Calamus vattayila Renuka (PALMAE)
Common names
Kannada: Devara betha.
Malayalam: Ottaman, Vattayilayan.
Tamil: Maniperambu.
Description: Solitary, high climbing canes, stem up to 30 m long. Leaves up to 1 m long; ecirrate; petioles up to 25 cm long, spiny; rachis with 3 rows of claw-like spines; sheath dark green, sparingly spiny, spines up to 2 cm long; knee conspicuous; ocrea small, 5 mm long; flagellum ca 4 m long; leaflets alternate, elliptic, ca 40 x 10 cm, 6-veined, tip with short bristles. The female inflorescence can grow up to 1 meter in length. The fruits are oblong, measuring around 2.5 by 0.8 centimeters, featuring scales arranged in 27 rows. These scales are longer than they are wide, not channeled, and are chestnut brown. Inside the fruit, the endosperm displays a ruminate structure.
Flowering : September – October.
Fruiting : April – May.
Distribution: India: In evergreen forests of Western Ghats between 200 -750 m. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic.
Uses: A good quality cane used in furniture industry. It however is in short supply.