Daemonorops melanochaetes

Blume

Selang rattan

Arecaceae Edible: Palm heart, Cabbage, Shoots, Sago, Fruit

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Description

A cane or rattan. It can form large colonies. It can be 33-100 m long. It has many prickles. The leaves are 3.1 m long and the leaf stalks 1 m long. The extended stalk like structure on the ends of the leaves can be 1 m long. This is used for climbing. The leaflets are 60 cm long and dark green. They are regularly spaced along the stalk. They grow in a single plane and are narrow and hang down.

Edible Uses

The palm heart, cabbage, shoots, sago, and fruit are all edible portions of this plant.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in rain forest from sea level to 330 m altitude. It has grown up to 1,400 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Asia, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, SE Asia, Thailand,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Other Uses

The stem is used to make broom handles and coarse furniture. The stem is about 20mm in diameter one the leaf-sheaths have been removed. The long and slender stems of rattan 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.

Notes

There are 115 Daemonorops species.

Synonyms

Calamus melanochaetes (Blume) Miq.Daemonorops javanica FurtadoDaemonorops melanochaetes var. depressiglobus Teijsm. & Binn. ex Becc.Daemonorops melanochaetes var. macrocarpus Becc.Daemonorops melanochaetes var. macrocymbus Becc.Daemonorops melanochaetes var. microcarpus Teijsm. & Binn. ex Becc.Daemonorops melanochaetes var. padangensis Becc.

Also Known As

Howe seel, Pandjalin manis, Rotan chinchin, Rotan getah, Rotan legi, Rotan lelo, Rotan selang, Sekei udang

References (7)

Balick, M.J. and Beck, H.T., (Ed.), 1990, Useful palms of the World. A Synoptic Bibliography. Colombia p 457
Johnson, D.V., 1998, Tropical palms. Non-wood Forest products 10. FAO Rome. p 66
Ochse, J. J. et al, 1931, Vegetables of the Dutch East Indies. Asher reprint. p 568
PROSEA (Plant Resources of South East Asia) handbook, Volume 6, 1993,Rattans.
Riffle, R.L. & Craft, P., 2003, An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms. Timber Press. p 321

Show all 7 references

Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 775
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (As Calamus melanochaetes)