Rattan (from the Malay rotan) is the name for roughly 600 species of old world climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae (from the Greek 'kálamos' = reed). Rattan is also known as manila, or malacca, named after the ports of shipment Manila and Malacca City, and as manau (from the Malay rotan manau, the trade name for Calamus manan canes in Southeast Asia). The climbing habit is associated with the characteristics of its flexible woody stem, derived typically from a secondary growth, makes rattan a liana rather than a true wood.
Contents
Taxonomy
Calamoideae also includes tree palms such as Raphia (Raffia) and Metroxylon (Sago palm) and shrub palms such as Salacca (Salak) (Uhl & Dransfield 1987 Genera Palmarum). The climbing habit in palms is not restricted to Calamoideae, but has also evolved in three other evolutionary lines—tribes Cocoeae (Desmoncus with c. 7–10 species in the New World tropics) and Areceae (Dypsis scandens in Madagascar) in subfamily Arecoideae, and tribe Hyophorbeae (climbing species of the large genus Chamaedorea in Central America) in subfamily Ceroxyloideae. They do not have spinose stems and climb by means of their reflexed terminal leaflets. Of these only Desmoncus spp. furnish stems of sufficiently good quality to be used as rattan cane substitutes.
There are 13 different genera of rattans that include around 600 species. Some of the species in these "rattan genera" have a different habit and do not climb, they are shrubby palms of the forest undergrowth; nevertheless they are close relatives to species that are climbers and they are hence included in the same genera. The largest rattan genus is Calamus, distributed in Asia except for one species represented in Africa. From the remaining rattan genera, Daemonorops, Ceratolobus, Korthalsia, Plectocomia, Plectocomiopsis, Myrialepis, Calospatha, Pogonotium and Retispatha, are centered in Southeast Asia with outliers eastwards and northwards; and three are endemic to Africa: Laccosperma (syn. Ancistrophyllum), Eremospatha and Oncocalamus.
The rattan genera and their distribution (Uhl & Dransfield 1987 Genera Palmarum, Dransfield 1992):
| Genus | Number of species | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Calamus L. | c. 370–400 | Tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka, China, south and east to Fiji, Vanuatu and eastern Australia |
| Calospatha Becc. | 1 | Endemic to Peninsular Malaysia |
| Ceratolobus Bl. | 6 | Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java |
| Daemonorops Bl. | c. 115 | India and China to westernmost New Guinea |
| Eremospatha (Mann & Wendl.) Wendl. | 10 | Humid tropical Africa |
| Korthalsia Bl. | c. 26 | Indo-China and Burma to New Guinea |
| Laccosperma (Mann & Wendl.) Drude | 5 | Humid tropical Africa |
| Myrialepis Becc. | 1 | Indo-China, Thailand, Burma, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra |
| Oncocalamus (Wendl.) Wendl. | 4 | Humid tropical Africa |
| Plectocomia Mart. | c. 16 | Himalayas and south China to western Malaysia |
| Plectocomiopsis Becc. | c. 5 | Laos, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra |
| Pogonotium J. Dransf. | 3 | Two species endemic to Borneo, one species in both Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo |
| Retispatha J. Dransf. | 1 | Endemic to Borneo |
In Uhl & Dransfield (1987 Genera Palmarum, 2ºed. 2008), and also Dransfield & Manokaran (1993), a great deal of basic introductory information is available.
Available rattan floras and monographs by region (2002):
| Region | Reference |
|---|---|
| Peninsular Malaysia | Dransfield, 1979 |
| Sabah | Dransfield, 1984 |
| Sarawak | Dransfield, 1992a |
| Brunei | Dransfield, 1998 |
| Sri Lanka | de Zoysa & Vivekanandan, 1994 |
| India (general) | Basu, 1992 |
| India (Western Ghats) | Renuka, 1992 |
| India (south) | Lakshmana, 1993 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Renuka, 1995 |
| Bangladesh | Alam, 1990[15] |
| Papua New Guinea | Johns & Taurereko, 1989a,[16] 1989b[17] (preliminary notes only) |
| Irian Jaya | Currently (2002) under study at Kew (Baker & Dransfield) |
| Indonesia | Dransfield and Mogea [to 2002 in prep.]; more field work needed |
| Laos | Currently (2002) in prep. (Evans) |
| Thailand | Hodel, 1998[18] |
| Africa | Currently (2002) in prep. (Sunderland) |
Uses by taxon.
The major commercial species of rattan canes as identified for Asia by Dransfield and Manokaran (1993) and for Africa, by Tuley (1995) and Sunderland (1999) (Desmoncus not treated here):[3]
| Species | Distribution | Conservation status |
|---|---|---|
| Calamus caesius Bl. | Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines and Thailand. Also introduced to China and south Pacific for planting | Unknown |
| Calamus egregius Burr. | Endemic to Hainan island, China, but introduced to southern China for cultivation | Unknown |
| Calamus exilis Griffith | Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra | Not threatened |
| Calamus javensis Bl. | Widespread in Southeast Asia | Not threatened |
| Calamus manan Miq. | Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra | Threatened |
| Calamus merrillii Becc. | Philippines | Threatened |
| Calamus mindorensis Becc. | Philippines | Unknown |
| Calamus optimus Becc. | Borneo and Sumatra. Cultivated in Kalimantan | Unknown |
| Calamus ornatus Bl. | Thailand, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, to the Philippines | Unknown |
| Calamus ovoideus Thwaites ex Trimen | Western Sri Lanka | Threatened |
| Calamus palustris Griffith | Burma, southern China, to Malaysia and the Andaman Islands | Unknown |
| Calamus pogonacanthus Becc. ex Winkler | Borneo | Unknown |
| Calamus scipionum Loureiro | Burma, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo to Palawan | Unknown |
| Calamus simplicifolius Wei | Endemic to Hainan island, China, but introduced to southern China for cultivation | Unknown |
| Calamus subinermis (eddl. ex Becc. | Sabah, Sarawak, East Kalimantan and Palawan | Unknown |
| Calamus tetradactylus Hance | Southern China. Introduced to Malaysia | Unknown |
| Calamus trachycoleus Becc. | South and Central Kalimantan. Introduced into Malaysia for cultivation | Not threatened |
| Calamus tumidus Furtado | Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra | Unknown |
| Calamus wailong Pei & Chen | Southern China | Unknown |
| Calamus zollingeri Becc. | Sulawesi and the Moluccas | Unknown |
| Daemonorops jenkinsiana (Hance) Becc. | Southern China | Unknown |
| Daemonorops robusta Warb. | Indonesia, Sulawesi and the Moluccas | Unknown |
| Daemonorops sabut Becc. | Peninsula Malaysia and Borneo | Unknown |
| Eremospatha macrocarpa (Mann & Wendl.) Mann & Wendl. | Tropical Africa from Sierra Leone to Angola | Not threatened |
| Eremospatha haullevilleana de Wild. | Congo Basin to East Africa | - |
| Laccosperma robustum (Burr.) J. Dransf. | Cameroon to Congo Basin | - |
| Laccosperma secundiflorum (P. Beauv.) Mann & Wendl. | Tropical Africa from Sierra Leone to Angola | Not threatened |
Utilized Calamus species canes:[19]
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
