Serious Cirrus

Rattans possess one of two different types of climbing organs; both are whip-like and spiny. A flagellum is a sterile inflorescence borne on the leaf sheath at the base of the petiole (go here for a picture of a flagellum).  A cirrus, on the other hand, is an extension of the leaf rachis beyond the terminal leaflets. The rattan leaf shown above, Plectocomia assamica (see Shooting Plectocomia), has an enormous cirrus which extends out over 2 to 3 meters. This massive, solitary rattan has one of the longest cirri of any rattan. It will rip a large hole in your shirt if it snags you while you're moving through the forest. [NOTE: The person in the blue plaid shirt (with all of the holes) holding the leaf upright for the photo - is me. Andrew Henderson and field crew are visible in the background].  

Shooting Plectocomia

Documentation of the photographic frenzy around the (fertile) specimen of Plectocomia assamica Griff. that we finally collected. Read the January 23, 2005 and January 25, 2005 entries in the Myanmar 2005 journal to see what all the fuss was about.  This is the rattan that the elephant is pulling out of the canopy at the end of the rattan survey video (see Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey). [NOTE: Nikon Coolpix on the right belongs to Andrew Henderson; that's U Tun Shaung on the left with the video camera]