Native to south
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
and
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
,
''Calamus salicifolius'', is commonly referred to as a
rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed- canopy old-growth tropical forest ...
, it is one of many ''Calamus'' species of the
Arecaceae, or palm, family.
It is described as a little bushy plant, often climbing, even on itself, with a 2 to 4m long stalk.
It is found in deforested/severely degraded lowland areas and near houses, growing well in grasslands, scrub, roadside verges, ricefield bunds and peri-urban wastelands. Typically it occurs in floodplains with seasonal shallow flooding (or even deep, such as at
Tonle Sap).
Its conservation status is that of least concern.
In Cambodia, vernacular names in
Khmer
Khmer(s) may refer to:
Cambodia
*''Srok Khmer'' (lit. "Khmer land" or "Land of the Khmer(s)"), a colloquial exonym used to refer to Cambodia by Cambodians; see
*
*Khmer people, the ethnic group to which the great majority of Cambodians belong
** ...
include ''phdau rôpèak'' (phdau=rattan), ''rôpèak'',
''ro peak'',
and ''robak'' (late 19th/early 20th Century).
The fruits are eaten in Cambodia, but mostly by children.
Cane from the stems is used in basket making. From a commercial perspective, in
Kampong Thom Province canes from the plant are highly available, but with low market value.
Its roots are used in traditional medicine in purgatives and to treat hypertension, they are also used to treat horses.
Some present-day traditional healers in the
Phnom Penh area describe the root and stem as having ''psah'' qualities, being able to quickly and efficiently heal infections, wounds, burns and repair internal and external tissue damage.
The plant is also mentioned in an end-of-19th-Century/beginning-of-20th-Century Khmer medical text, the ''neh tāmmrap kpuon thnāmm kae’ rog dan 4'' (Here is the Medical Treatise to Cure the four
ypes ofDiseases), as part of a preparation to cure cerebral palsy.
References
salicifolius
Flora of Cambodia
Flora of Vietnam
Plants described in 1902
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