Chapter VIH.— RATTANS/ 



The rattans are usually long, slender, climbing palms 

 growing in the deep shade of dense tropical and subtropical 

 forests. They are generally very local in their distribution, 

 and a certain species abundant in one district may be 

 entirely absent from another locality abounding in rattan 

 palms. Ordinarily the palms have a single main stem with- 

 out branches; but, if their growing point is injured, 

 branches are formed. Young rattans generally have leaves 

 with spines and thus can \)e easily distinguished from other 

 young palms. Occasionally, as in Baliuag, Bulacan, a few 

 rattan palms are found in a more or less cultivated state 

 in yards and gardens at the homes of some of the people. 

 In the Philippines two genera of rattans are important 

 industrially; viz. Calamus and Daemonorops. 



THE GENUS CALAMUS. 



Species of rattan of the genus Calamus may be erect or 

 scandent and a few feet or one hundred or more feet in 

 length. As a rule, the stems are slender, of the same 

 diameter throughout, and not much thicker than the little 

 finger. With very few exceptions, all parts of the plant 

 are abundantly supplied with spines. These may be long, 

 straight, and narrow as on the leaf petiole, or like "prickles" 

 as on the leaf surface. The slender spines become hard 

 and rigid and often brown or black in color on the leaf 

 sheath. Besides these spines and prickles mentioned, which 

 serve mainly to protect the plant, other spines may be 

 present — short, stout, and recurved like a cat's claws — 

 occurring on whiplike ends (flagella) which enable the plant 

 to attach itself to other forest plants and so reach the 

 sunlight. 



* The botanical description is based mainly on O. Beccari's treatise 

 on Calamus and Daemonorops in the Annals of the Royal Botanical 

 Garden, Calcutta, vols. 11 and 12. 

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