Rotan kertong
Myrialepis paradoxa

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A rattan. It grows in clusters and climbs 7 m tall. There are rings of sharp spines. The leaves are 3 m long. There are leaflets along the stalk. They are dark green. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. The flowering shoots are branched and 60 cm long. The fruit is shiny and green to brown and covered with scales. There is one seed.

There is only one Myrialepis species.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. In Indochina it grows in evergreen forest between 100-300 m altitude. In warmer places it grows to 1,000 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Cambodia, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, SE Asia, Thailand, Vietnam

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Shoots

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Lae-ka-yo, Re duln, Wai chang, Wai deng, Wai kiikay, Wai kung, Wai lao, Wai namsay

Synonyms

Calamus paradoxus Kurz.; Plectocomiopsis paradoxa (Kurz.) Becc.; Myrialepis scortechinii Becc.; Plectocomiopsis floribunda Becc.; Myrialepis floribunda (Becc.) Gagnep.; Bejaudia cambodiensis Gagnep.;