Difference between revisions of "Calamus"

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Calamus (Greek for reed). Palmaceae, tribe Lepidocarpae. A group of interesting, usually climbing pinnate palms of the Old World tropics, not much known to the trade although over thirty species are in the European catalogues.
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Stems very slender, always more or less prickly, usually climbing and never bearing a terminal infl.: Ivs. alternate, pinnate, often ending in a terminal sometimes elongated cirrus, by which they are attached to their support; Ifts. narrow, with 1-5 nerves; If.-sheaths at first completely inclosing the internodes, sometimes split and open: spadix laterally attached at the summit of the If.-sheaths, often elongate and slender and frequently ending in a tail-like appendage (flagellum) which is thorny; spathes long and narrow, hardly if at all split, differing from Daemonorops which has a readily opening spathe; fls. dioecious, paniculate or branched 2 or 3 times; corolla coriaceous, longer than the calyx in male fls., as long as the calyx in the female: fr. globose, ovoid or ellipsoid, topped by a short permanent style.—There are more than 200 species, most of which inhabit India. See Beccari's excellent monograph Ann. Royal. Bot. Card. Calcutta 11, 1908.
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Calamus is an easily grown group of palms, very ornamental, even in a young state. Some of the species have stems several hundred feet long, which enable them to unfold their leaves at the tops of the tallest trees. The leaves are peculiarly well adapted to assist the plant in climbing, having numerous hook-like processes arranged on a long continuation of the midrib of the leaf. When accommodations can be given, these plants should be selected, as their growth is rapid, and they are capable of furnishing a large conservatory quickly. Numerous suckers are produced, so that when the main stem ascends the lower part is clothed in foliage. Calamus tenuis (or C. Royleanus) and C. Rotang furnish the rattan canes. Malacca canes are furnished by C. Scipionum.—Young plants thrive best in a rooting medium containing a considerable quantity of leaf- mold. Older plants need soil of a more lasting nature; a quantity of ground bone and charcoal in the soil may be used to advantage. Old well-furnished plants need enormous quantities of water. All of them require stove temperature. (G. W. Oliver.)
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Calamus ciliaris, Blume. St. slender, climbing by means of long axillary leafless branches, covered with short hooked spines: Ivs. 1½-2½  ft. long, 6 in. wide; Ifts. 40-50 on each side, hairy; petiole 2 in. long with few hooked spines: spadix of female and male fls. finely hairy-hispid on the spathes: fr. globose, about ½ in. diam. Java and Sumatra. F.R. 1:607. G.C. III. 21:86.—Intro, into cult. in 1869. To be grown in tropical house.
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Calamus asperrimus, Blume. St. slender, climbing by the prickly cirrus of the Ivs. and the prickly branches: Ivs. without stalks, about 18 in. long, bearing not more than 8-10 thin, papery, irregularly placed Ifts. on each side of the rachis: spadix simply decompound, about 7 ft. long, terminating in a slender prickly appendage. Mts. of Java.—Can be grown in a cooler house than the preceding.
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C. Andreanum, Hort., Pill & Mitterb— (?).—C. calicarpus, Griff. — D aemonorops calicarpus, Mart.—C. dealbatus. Hort. — Acanthophoenix rubra, Wendl.—C. Lewisianus, Griff. — Daemonorops Lewisianus, Mart. N.Taylor.
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Calamus orsweet flag: Acorta Calamus.
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Calanchor: Kalanchoe.
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Calandrinia (J. L. Calandrini, Genevan botanist, who wrote an important thesis in 1734). Portulacaceae. Fleshy, spreading or nearly trailing plants, sometimes cult. in borders and rockeries, or used for edgings in sunny places.
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Flowers red or pink or rose-color, of short duration; petals 3-7; sepals 2; stamens 5 (or 3) to 12; style with 3 branches: Ivs. alternate, narrow.—About 60 species, Brit. Col. to S. Amer. and in Austral. Annuals and perennials, but the latter mostly treated as annuals; not much grown in gardens.
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Calandrinia umbellata, DC. Perennial, 4-6 in.: Ivs. linear and hairy: fls. in a corymb, or umbel-like terminal cluster, bright crimson. Peru. R.H. 1853:5.—The C. umbellata of gardens is hardy in many parts of the U. S.; in New York it should be planted in a well-sheltered position, or provided with ample protection in winter; sometimes it acts like the biennials, but, as seeds are produced very freely, young seedlings spring up constantly between the old plants, and one does not miss the few which may decay during the second year; the plant forms a very neat, slightly spreading tuft; fls. are produced in many-fld. umbels, terminal, numerous, and large, glowing crimson-magenta, saucer-shaped, very showy. June to Nov. Full exposure to sun, and light sandy soil, are needed to bring out the rare beauty of these plants. The fls. close up when evening comes, like the annual portulacas, but they reopen on the following day. In the sunny sloping part of a rockery, even when quite dry, or among other low plants in a bed or border, they are highly satisfactory. Although perennial, it may also be treated like the annuals, as it flowers the first summer as freely as afterwards. Can be prop. by cuttings.
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Calandrinia discolor, Schrad. (C. elegans, Hort.). Perennial, 1-2½  ft.: Ivs. fleshy, spatulate to obovate, purple beneath, gray-green above, blunt: fls. bright light purple, 2 in. across, with yellow stamens. Chile. B.M.3357.
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Calandrinia Menziesii, Torr. & Gray (C. speciosa, Lindl.). Red Maids. Annual: 3-12 in. high, with green herbage, glabrous, or nearly so: Ivs. linear, or spatulate-oblanceolate: fls. rose-red or purple, rather large and long-peduncled (petals ½in- long). Calif., N. B.R. 1598.— Variable. There is a white-fld. variety advertised.
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Calandrinia grandiflora, Lindl. Perennial, 1-3 ft.: much like C. discolor, but lvs. oval and pointed, narrowed to petiole, green, 4-8 in. long: fls. somewhat smaller, light purple. Chile.
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Calandrinia spectabilis, Otto. & Dietr. Perennial, 2 ft.: Ivs. lance-spatulate or rhomboid, 1½ in. long, somewhat pointed: fls. bright purple, 2 in. across. Chile.—Said to produce seed seldom; prop. by cuttings.
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Calandrinia Buridgii, Hort. Annual, 1 ft.: Ivs. linear-lanceolate, smooth: fls. many, small, copper-rose or brick-red, in leafy clusters. S. Amer.
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Calandrinia chromantha, Griseb. One ft., loosely branched: Ivs. rather large: fls. and buds rose-colored: fr. orange- yellow, persisting. Argentina.
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J. B. Keller.
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L. H. B.
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Revision as of 10:28, 10 May 2009


Read about Calamus in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Calamus (Greek for reed). Palmaceae, tribe Lepidocarpae. A group of interesting, usually climbing pinnate palms of the Old World tropics, not much known to the trade although over thirty species are in the European catalogues. Stems very slender, always more or less prickly, usually climbing and never bearing a terminal infl.: Ivs. alternate, pinnate, often ending in a terminal sometimes elongated cirrus, by which they are attached to their support; Ifts. narrow, with 1-5 nerves; If.-sheaths at first completely inclosing the internodes, sometimes split and open: spadix laterally attached at the summit of the If.-sheaths, often elongate and slender and frequently ending in a tail-like appendage (flagellum) which is thorny; spathes long and narrow, hardly if at all split, differing from Daemonorops which has a readily opening spathe; fls. dioecious, paniculate or branched 2 or 3 times; corolla coriaceous, longer than the calyx in male fls., as long as the calyx in the female: fr. globose, ovoid or ellipsoid, topped by a short permanent style.—There are more than 200 species, most of which inhabit India. See Beccari's excellent monograph Ann. Royal. Bot. Card. Calcutta 11, 1908. Calamus is an easily grown group of palms, very ornamental, even in a young state. Some of the species have stems several hundred feet long, which enable them to unfold their leaves at the tops of the tallest trees. The leaves are peculiarly well adapted to assist the plant in climbing, having numerous hook-like processes arranged on a long continuation of the midrib of the leaf. When accommodations can be given, these plants should be selected, as their growth is rapid, and they are capable of furnishing a large conservatory quickly. Numerous suckers are produced, so that when the main stem ascends the lower part is clothed in foliage. Calamus tenuis (or C. Royleanus) and C. Rotang furnish the rattan canes. Malacca canes are furnished by C. Scipionum.—Young plants thrive best in a rooting medium containing a considerable quantity of leaf- mold. Older plants need soil of a more lasting nature; a quantity of ground bone and charcoal in the soil may be used to advantage. Old well-furnished plants need enormous quantities of water. All of them require stove temperature. (G. W. Oliver.) Calamus ciliaris, Blume. St. slender, climbing by means of long axillary leafless branches, covered with short hooked spines: Ivs. 1½-2½ ft. long, 6 in. wide; Ifts. 40-50 on each side, hairy; petiole 2 in. long with few hooked spines: spadix of female and male fls. finely hairy-hispid on the spathes: fr. globose, about ½ in. diam. Java and Sumatra. F.R. 1:607. G.C. III. 21:86.—Intro, into cult. in 1869. To be grown in tropical house. Calamus asperrimus, Blume. St. slender, climbing by the prickly cirrus of the Ivs. and the prickly branches: Ivs. without stalks, about 18 in. long, bearing not more than 8-10 thin, papery, irregularly placed Ifts. on each side of the rachis: spadix simply decompound, about 7 ft. long, terminating in a slender prickly appendage. Mts. of Java.—Can be grown in a cooler house than the preceding. C. Andreanum, Hort., Pill & Mitterb— (?).—C. calicarpus, Griff. — D aemonorops calicarpus, Mart.—C. dealbatus. Hort. — Acanthophoenix rubra, Wendl.—C. Lewisianus, Griff. — Daemonorops Lewisianus, Mart. N.Taylor. Calamus orsweet flag: Acorta Calamus. Calanchor: Kalanchoe. Calandrinia (J. L. Calandrini, Genevan botanist, who wrote an important thesis in 1734). Portulacaceae. Fleshy, spreading or nearly trailing plants, sometimes cult. in borders and rockeries, or used for edgings in sunny places. Flowers red or pink or rose-color, of short duration; petals 3-7; sepals 2; stamens 5 (or 3) to 12; style with 3 branches: Ivs. alternate, narrow.—About 60 species, Brit. Col. to S. Amer. and in Austral. Annuals and perennials, but the latter mostly treated as annuals; not much grown in gardens. Calandrinia umbellata, DC. Perennial, 4-6 in.: Ivs. linear and hairy: fls. in a corymb, or umbel-like terminal cluster, bright crimson. Peru. R.H. 1853:5.—The C. umbellata of gardens is hardy in many parts of the U. S.; in New York it should be planted in a well-sheltered position, or provided with ample protection in winter; sometimes it acts like the biennials, but, as seeds are produced very freely, young seedlings spring up constantly between the old plants, and one does not miss the few which may decay during the second year; the plant forms a very neat, slightly spreading tuft; fls. are produced in many-fld. umbels, terminal, numerous, and large, glowing crimson-magenta, saucer-shaped, very showy. June to Nov. Full exposure to sun, and light sandy soil, are needed to bring out the rare beauty of these plants. The fls. close up when evening comes, like the annual portulacas, but they reopen on the following day. In the sunny sloping part of a rockery, even when quite dry, or among other low plants in a bed or border, they are highly satisfactory. Although perennial, it may also be treated like the annuals, as it flowers the first summer as freely as afterwards. Can be prop. by cuttings. Calandrinia discolor, Schrad. (C. elegans, Hort.). Perennial, 1-2½ ft.: Ivs. fleshy, spatulate to obovate, purple beneath, gray-green above, blunt: fls. bright light purple, 2 in. across, with yellow stamens. Chile. B.M.3357. Calandrinia Menziesii, Torr. & Gray (C. speciosa, Lindl.). Red Maids. Annual: 3-12 in. high, with green herbage, glabrous, or nearly so: Ivs. linear, or spatulate-oblanceolate: fls. rose-red or purple, rather large and long-peduncled (petals ½in- long). Calif., N. B.R. 1598.— Variable. There is a white-fld. variety advertised. Calandrinia grandiflora, Lindl. Perennial, 1-3 ft.: much like C. discolor, but lvs. oval and pointed, narrowed to petiole, green, 4-8 in. long: fls. somewhat smaller, light purple. Chile. Calandrinia spectabilis, Otto. & Dietr. Perennial, 2 ft.: Ivs. lance-spatulate or rhomboid, 1½ in. long, somewhat pointed: fls. bright purple, 2 in. across. Chile.—Said to produce seed seldom; prop. by cuttings. Calandrinia Buridgii, Hort. Annual, 1 ft.: Ivs. linear-lanceolate, smooth: fls. many, small, copper-rose or brick-red, in leafy clusters. S. Amer. Calandrinia chromantha, Griseb. One ft., loosely branched: Ivs. rather large: fls. and buds rose-colored: fr. orange- yellow, persisting. Argentina. J. B. Keller. L. H. B.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.



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