Osier-like rattan (Calamus viminalis)

Osier-like rattan (Calamus viminalis) is a species of plant in the Arecaceae, climbing up to 35 meters or forming dense thickets, cylindrical stems, up to 4 cm in diameter, segmented, green, full of spines up to 4 cm long and black.

C. viminalis has a green sheath. The petiole has brown or black spines along the underside, straight or curved inward. The flyer has units on each side with spaced groups for 3-5 units, regular and green.

Inflorescence in panicles with branching stalks. The fruit is round, whitish or yellowish, up to 1 cm in diameter and sometimes in pairs.

Osier-like rattan grow in dense colonies in the lowlands to 600 meters elevation in rainforests and often near the sea and behind mangrove formations. The rods are generally used as raw materials for making tables, chairs and household crafts.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Calamoideae
Tribe: Calameae
Genus: Calamus
Species: Calamus viminalis

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