Calamus erectus

Calamus erectus, also known as viagra palm and locally as tynriew, tara, and zhi li sheng teng, is a flowering shrub in the family Arecaceae. The specific epithet (erectus) refers to the plant's habit of growing straight rather than creeping or climbing like many species of the genus Calamus.

Description

A rattan. It is a large cane. It grows 6 m long and can be 5 cm across. The stem form tufts and are erect and have spines. The spines are flat and straight. The leaves are alternate and divided. The segments taper. The leaflets are spaced at equal distances. The middle ones are 60-80 cm long by 4-5 cm wide. The fruit is oval and has flattened scales. It is 3-5 cm long by 2-3 cm wide.

Edible Uses

The ripe fruit are eaten raw or pickled. The seeds are used as a betel nut substitute. The soft fleshy inner section of young shoots is cooked as a vegetable or used in chutney.

Traditional Uses

The seeds are used as a substitute for betel nut. The ripe fruit are eaten raw. They are also pickled. The soft fleshy inner section of the young shoots is cooked and eaten as a vegetable. It is also used in chutney.

Medicinal Uses

The plant is cultivated experimentally in several locations across India and Bangladesh, and is cultivated in several botanical gardens, especially in the Indian Botanic Garden in Howrah. Although the canes are not useful for making furniture due to the short internodes, the Mising people of the Assam plains used strong canes of Calamus erectus along with split Dendrocalamus bamboo to make huts and used the leaves as thatch. The stems and leaves are also used by them to make poultry houses. In Bangladesh, the seeds are chewed in the place of betel nuts. It is sometimes used in folk medicine, as it is considered to hold antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties. It is offered to the Gods of the Sanamahism religion during the Lunar New Year celebration rituals known as Cheiraoba. The young shoots and leaves are eaten as a vegetable and have a bitter flavor when raw.

Distribution

A tropical plant. In Laos it grows in evergreen forest. It grows between 600-1,600 m altitude. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Asia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, SE Asia, Sikkim, Thailand,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Propagation

Seed - it has a fairly short viability and is best sown as soon as it is ripe.

Other Uses

The thick stem is not flexible. It is used in construction and in furniture making. The erect and slender stems of certain non-climbing species are used entire and cut into pieces of appropriate length to make handles, rods, walking canes and the like. Their chief merit, apart from their toughness, their elasticity, and the beauty of their surface, lies in the extraordinary length of their internodes, a single one of these being sufficient to make a very elegant walking cane. Collecting and preparing the stems is very simple. The stem is cut near the ground, 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. The leaves are used for thatching.

Production

In Sikkim fruit are produced in March.

Notes

There are 375-400 Calamus species. There are 175 species in tropical Asia.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Aghawi, Betphal, Bettoni, Chingpi ngeh, Chingpingek, Hrui-phi, Kadam-bet, Khi sian, Phekre, Pre, Raidang bet, Raigongang, Raisok, Rhong, Rotan tegak, Soh-thri, Sokmil, Tara, Tare, Tarea, Tekhra, Thaing-kyein, Theru, Uhdum bizi, Viagra palm, Wai namsay

References (32)

• Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 95
• Angami, A., et al, 2006, Status and potential of wild edible plants of Arunachal Pradesh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 5(4) October 2006, pp 541-550
• BARC, 2016, State of Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council.
• Chase, P. & Singh, O. P., 2016, Bioresources of Nagaland: A Case of Wild 4 Edible Fruits in Khonoma Village Forest. in J. Purkayastha (ed.), Bioprospecting of Indigenous Bioresources of North-East India. p 50
• Dransfield, J., et al, 2004, A preliminary checklist to Thai Palms. Thai For. Bull. (Bot.) 32:32-72

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