Calamus rotang

Calamus rotang aka rotang is a plant species native to India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar (Burma). It one of the scandent rattan palms used for Malacca cane in the making of furniture, baskets, walking-sticks, umbrellas, tables and general wickerwork, and is found in Southwest Asia. The basal section of the plant grows vertically for 10 metres or so, after which the slender, tough stem of a few centimetres in diameter, grows horizontally for 200 metres or more. It is extremely flexible and uniform in thickness, and frequently has sheaths and petioles armed with backward-facing spines which enable it to scramble over other plants. It has pinnate, alternate leaves, 60–80 cm long, armed with two rows of spines on the upper face.