Wait-a-while, Southern Lawyer vine
Calamus muelleri

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A tall slender palm or rattan. It forms clumps and climbs. A number of stems arise each year from an underground rhizome. The stems are thorny. They are green but turn brown with age. Stems can be 10-15 m long. They can grow to 180 m long. Stems are about 1 cm wide. There are slender, flexible climbing structures growing from the leaf sheath opposite the leaf. These can be 1-2 m long and have backwards curving thorns. The leaves are distributed along the stem at fairly wide intervals. The leaves are 30-100 cm long divided into 10-19 leaflets along the stalk. These are dark green on both surfaces. The 4 leaflets at the end are in a group. The leaflets are 10-20 cm long and 15-20 mm wide. The flowering stalk is long and slender and hangs downwards. It has a thorny stalk at the end which can be 3 m long. Several flowering stalks normally occur on the same plant at the one time. The flowers are 3-4 mm across. Male and female flowers occur on separate plants. The fruit are cream or green and round. They are 8-15 mm across and covered with overlapping scales. They have a thin dry outer coat over one seed.

There are 375-400 Calamus species. There are 175 species in tropical Asia.

Where it is found

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in wet rainforests. They do best in a warm, shady site. They need a rich, well-drained soil. They will tolerate mild frosts when older. Melbourne Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 9-12.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The fleshy layer of the fruit is eaten.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed which should be sown while fresh. Seed normally germinate within 6 months. Seedlings do not transplant easily.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Calamus muelleri var. macrospermus H. Wendl.; Palijuncus muelleri (H. Wendl.) Kuntze;