Calamus schistoacanthus Blume, Rumphia 3: 49 (1847)

Primary tabs

no image available

Content

Distribution

A rattan restricted to lowland sites in west and central Kalimantan. (Dransfield, J. & Patel, M. 2005: Rattans of Borneo, an interactive key.)A

Conservation

  • Endangered. (Dransfield, J. & Patel, M. 2005: Rattans of Borneo, an interactive key.)A

Description

  • Habit - Climbing; stems clustering; not branching in the forest canopy; not dying after flowering. Plants dioecious.
    Leaf-sheath - Tubular for most of its length; stem and sheath together 0.81-0.99 cm; flagellum long; knee present; with spines similar to the rest of the sheath. Sheath surface lacking small horizontal ridges; without hairs or minute spines; green; with scales on surface; brown. Leaf sheath with abundant spines; spines persistent; horizontally pointing; of different sizes; the larger spines tapered; the longest, excluding those at the mouth of the sheath 1-3cm. Spines straight; in life black; with smooth margins; the bases swollen. Spines mostly not grouped. Spines around the leaf sheath mouth much longer than on the rest of the sheath. Ocrea - Absent. Leaf-stalk - Absent or usually less than 3cm. Leaves - Ecirrate; rachis armed; not hairy. Undersurface of newly emerged leaflets same as upper surface. Scales absent from leaflet surfaces. Leaflets sessile; 1 to 10 on each side of rachis; regularly spaced and parallel; held in a single plane; linear; the leaflet tip acute. Longest leaflet 28.35-34.65 cm; not exceeding 2cm wide; with bristles abaxially only, (few or none above); the margins with many bristles. Bristles not interlocking; short, dark or dark-tipped up to 5mm long, or stiff black greater than 0.5mm long. Leaflets scarcely plicate; the veins not radiating; midrib raised and prominent adaxially. Lowermost leaflets not reflexed across the stem. Apical leaflets not or scarcely joined; not less than 4 cm long.
    Inflorescence - Inflorescence axis long, whip-like with clawed spines on the primary bracts; not rooting at its tip; much longer than the leaves; the first bract not enclosing the inflorescences at anthesis. Partial inflorescence present; bracts at the base of the partial inflorescences wholly tubular with a neat mouth or a small open limb, much shorter than the partial inflorescence. Rachilla lacking an enclosing bract; not at all pressed against the subtending bract. Flowers arranged in two rows. Male rachillae not less than 1 cm long. Female rachillae not congested; with conspicuously stalked flower cups. Bracts on the rachillae not net-like.
    Fruit - At maturity 0.9-1.3 cm; ovoid; red resin (Dragon's blood) absent. Calyx in fruit split to the base and wholly flattened. Fruit scales flat, lacking a central groove; the tips not recurved; colour on ripe fruit straw-brown or yellow-brown; when dry straw-brown or yellow-brown (excluding dark margins). (Dransfield, J. & Patel, M. 2005: Rattans of Borneo, an interactive key.)A

Notes

  • This slender species is distinctive in its rather densly armed leaf sheaths and ecirrate leaf with few rather narrow regularly arranged leaflets. (Dransfield, J. & Patel, M. 2005: Rattans of Borneo, an interactive key.)A

Bibliography

    A. Dransfield, J. & Patel, M. 2005: Rattans of Borneo, an interactive key.