Chair-bottom Cane
Calamus rotang
Palm family (Arecaceae)
Tough and flexible
Rattan is a climbing palm from Southeast Asia. Initially, the plant grows vertically up to about 10 m then it continues growing horizontally for up to 200 m. The leaves are 80 cm long and have petioles covered in spines. These spines hook the plant on to the surrounding trees and in this way rattan is able to move through the canopy.
The long stems are tough, flexible and uniform in diameter. For this reason they have been used for centuries for basketry, walking sticks and furniture making. The fruits secrete a resinous substance that can be used as a dye and is called 'dragon's blood'. Dyes with this name, however, can also come from Daemomorops draco from Sumatra or the Canary dragon tree, Dracaena draco.
Themes
The stems are used for furniture, woven screens, mats, baskets, hanging bridges, etc.
The pigment 'dragon's blood' is extracted from the resin of the bark. Dragon's blood was used as a dye and painting pigment.
The pigment 'dragon's blood' was extracted from resin found in the bark. Dragon's blood was used as a medicine for respiratory and gastrointestinal problems.
Details
| Description: | Tree, shrub, palm with climbing stems that can reach a height of 200 m or more. |
|---|---|
| Distributions: | Africa, asia |
| Habitat: | Tropical rainforest. |
| Hardiness: | Warmer than 59 f (heated glasshouse - tropical) |
| Flower color: | Green |
| Notes on flowers: | Flowers, unisexual on dioecious plants, are clustered in showy, branched inflorescences, enveloped by spiny bracts. |