Calamus prasinus Lakshmana & Renuka (PALMAE)
Common name
Kannada: Onti betha.
Description: Solitary, high climbing canes; stems to 30 m long. Leaves up to 2.5 m long, ecirrate, petioles up to 30 cm long, armed with small prickles, underneath of petioles and underneath of rachis armed with recurved spines; petioles and rachis exude milky juice when cut; sheath pale green, densely spiny, spines up to 1 cm long; knee conspicuous; leaflets more or less equidistant, ca 50 x 2.5 cm, 3-veined, terminal pair united basally. Inflorescence long, pendulous. The fruits are spherical in shape with scales arranged in 26 rows, showcasing a yellow hue and deeply grooved along the center. Inside, the endosperm presents a ruminate structure.
Flowering : November – December.
Fruiting : May – June.
Distribution: India: Evergreen forests of Western Ghats at about 530 m. Karnataka. Endemic.
Uses: A good quality cane used in cane industry.