Common Name: White Rattan

General Information

White rattan is a spiny, evergreen, climbing palm, producing a cluster of slender, unbranched, woody stems. The stems can be up to 30 metres long (10 metres in Cambodia), around 5 - 18mm in diamete, with internodes 10 - 15cm long[, , ].
The plant is widely harvested for its useful stems. It is cultivated for these stems in southern China, where smallholders plant it in agroforestry systems such as under fruit trees or around gardens; on a commercial scale, it has been intercropped in lowland forests, logged-over forests, scrub, plantation forest, and also in rubber plantations[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - southern China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Habitat

Primary or secondary tropical forests and subtropical broadleaved forest, preferring wet hollows and mountain valleys, though young plants may not be able to withstand severe flooding[]. Found at elevations up to 600 metres[].

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Climber
Height	30.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the humid, lowland tropics, growing at elevations below 600 metres[]. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 1,300 - 3,000mm, and the mean annual temperature is 20 - 30°c[]. Temperatures even a little below freezing will kill seedling plants[].
Grows best with its roots in the shade but its stems growing up into the light. Requires a fertile and damp soil with medium to high amounts of humus and a pH value of 4.5 - 6.5[].
Flowering usually begins 3 - 4 years after planting[].
Clumps consisting of over 100 aerial stems with a total stem length of over 350 metres have been found in the wild[].
Site preparation for cultivation involves thinning the forest canopy to permit 40 - 50% light penetration, cutting and cleaning planting lines and preparing planting holes. Seedlings need organic manure for optimum growth. Planting should be carried out in the rainy season[].
Although it is recognized that the plant has the capacity to grow well in open areas, young leaves may be scorched by full sunlight[].
The highest yield are obtained when planted as a sole crop[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required[].

Edible Uses

Although we have no specific information for this species, many members of this genus have potentially edible young shoots. Indeed, in Laos the shoots are considered to be a delicacy and over half the species growing there are said to be cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The top 100cm of the plant is used. If the leaf sheaths are left in place until just before cooking then the shoot will remain fresh for up to one week[].

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is grown along the boundaries of fields where its spiny stems serve as a barrier to keep out animals[].

Other Uses

The cane is used for making basketry, furniture, and handicrafts[]. A first class cane of small diameter and one of the most important sources of cane for making rattan handicrafts, basketware and furniture in China[]. It has a resilient and durable cane, and its uniform texture makes it suitable for being split into fine strips for weaving handicrafts and making furniture[].
The stem is without leaf-sheaths and varies from 5 - 8 mm in diameter, with sheaths to about 12 mm in diameter; internodes to 20 cm or more in length[].
On Hainan Island, where the plant is abundant, it is also used as cordage, to bind thatch and to make implements[]
The long and slender stems of Calamus species are put to various uses according to their size, length, flexibility, elasticity and toughness. The most slender canes are employed entire for binding purposes, and in making chairs, blinds, mats, wicker or basketwork, fishing implements, etc. Twisted together, they make very strong cables. The largest and more resistent canes are used entire as cables, the framework of wicker chairs etc. Usually, however, for many purposes the stems are split throughout their length into 2 - 4 or more strips from which the inner soft brittle and spongy portion is removed by means of a knife or same other instrument, so as to leave the external portion, which is hard, tough, flexible, elastic and has its outer surface very clean and smooth as if it had been varnished[].
Strips vary in width according to the use to which they are to be put. Those for delicate work, such as the network of furniture, small bags, hats, etc, are from 1 - 3mm wide; those employed as lashings in native housebuilding or in fastening the removable head of the Malay axe to its handle are from 5-6 mm wide[].
Collecting and preparing the stems is very simple. The stem is cut near the ground and detached from the trees by taking a strong hold of its base and thus pulling down the entire plant with its leaves. The most recent growth at the top of the plant is removed and then, handling it from the upper end, the stem is forcibly drawn in the opposite direction between two pieces of wood, thus removing the spiny coverings. It is then cut into lengths of about 5 metres, each piece is bent into two equal parts and the stems are fastened into bundles ready for market. The most valued stems are not thicker than a man's little finger and have a fine polished straw-yellow glassy surface[].

Propagation

Seeds should be extracted and cleaned immediately after the mature fruits are collected in order to obtain a high germination percentage[]. The outer scaly pericarp of the fruits and the sarcotesta can be removed completely by rubbing the seeds in water with some sand, then the extracted seeds have to be cleaned and kept at a moisture content of 25 - 35%[]. Seed moisture content of less than 25% will decrease viability and below 20%, the seeds may dry out, causing the embryo to die[].
Germination percentage of fresh mature seeds can reach 98%. Usually seed starts to germinate 15 - 25 days from sowing; a few seeds germinate after 60 - 90 days[]. The development of the seedling is slow; the first leaf appears after 2 - 3 months; after 18 - 30 months, the primary stem may exceed 50 cm in length, and the first flagellum and 2 - 3 sucker shoots may have developed[].
Normal nursery practice in China is first to soak seeds in clear water for 1 - 3 days, then to sow seeds in clean sand beds under shade. After 50 - 70 days, young seedlings, with the primary leaf unexpanded, can be transplanted into potting bags containing soil with mixed nutrients (the ratio of forest topsoil to pond mud to composted manure is 50:50:1); the potted seedlings have to be placed in the nursery under semi-shade which is the optimum light regime for the seedlings. Seedlings 15 to 18 months old and with 7-9 leaves are ready for planting out in the field[].
Like other clustering rattans, this species can be propagated by sucker shoots, but propagation by seeds is a more common method[].

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