Botanical Name: Calamus spp.
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Calamoideae
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Arecales
Tribe: Calameae
Genus: Calamus
Synonyms:
*Calamus rotang
*Calamus monoecus Roxb.
*Calamus roxburghii Griff.
*Calamus scipionum Lam.
*Draco rotang Crantz
*Palmijuncus monoecus (Roxb.) Kuntze
*Rotang linnaei Baill.
*Rotanga calamus Crantz
Common Name: Rattan Palm
Habitat: Calamus spp. is native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, and Australia
Description:
Calamus spp. is a “Solitary or clustering, stemless to high-climbing or erect pleonanthic dioecious rattans; sheaths usually heavily armed with spines, the spines frequently highly organised. Flagellum (sterile inflorescence) often present, borne on the leaf sheath, sometimes absent and replaced by a cirrus at the end of the leaf, very rarely both present or both absent; knee often present; ocrea sometimes well developed, usually inconsicuous. Make and female inflorescences superficially similar, often ending in a long flagellum, sometimes with gradual succession of branches, often with descrete distant branches (partial inflorescences); bracts always tubular at the base, rarely with broad limbs splitting down one side, but if so, then the base always tubular and unsplit, bracts variously armed; partial inflorescences usually much longer than the subtending bract, very rarely shorter, involucre and involucrophore inconspicuous. Male flower with cup-shaped calyx, usually with 3 well defined lobes; corolla split almost to the base into 3 petals; stamens 6, very shortly epipetalous; pistillode minute. Female flower borne together with a sterile male flower as a pair. Sterile male flower like the fertile male, but with empty anthers. Female flower usually larger than the male, with calyx shallowly 3-lobed; corolla with 3 petals; staminodes 6, joined basally to form a ring; ovary tipped with 3 stigmas and covered with reflexed scales; locules 3 with one ovule in each. Fruit variously shaped, covered in reflexed scales. Seed usually one only, very variable in shape, covered in a thin to thick sarcotesta; endosperm homogeneous or ruminate; embryo basal or lateral. Seedling leaf bifid or pinnate”
Cultivation:
Prefers a moist humus rich soil in shade or semi-shade but succeeds in most soils that are not dry.
Edible Uses:
Leaves – raw or cooked. The seedlings are edible. Dried plants are used as a tea substitute.
Medicinal Uses:
The rhizomes are used medicinally.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamus_rotang
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Calamus+spp.
http://www.hear.org/pier/species/calamus_spp.htm
