An Unusual Rattan

Andrew Henderson, Dr. Ninh Khac Ban (see Weaving a Trivet), and I collect an interesting and unique species of rattan in Bach Ma National Park, Vietnam. Interesting because it is branched, unique because rattans don't normally do this.  It turned out to be a new species to science.

Weaving a Trivet

During a rattan survey of Bach Ma National Park in Vietnam, our field assistant gave us a quick lesson in weaving useful household items out of rattan.  He made the whole trivet out of one rattan cane.  And he took it home after we finished for the day. [NOTE:  The other man in the clip is Dr. Ninh Khac Ban, a rattan specialist from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in Hanoi.]