Calamus laevigatus Mart. ex Walp., Ann. Bot. Syst. 3: 489 (1852)

Etymology

Latin: smooth, referring to the smooth unarmed leaf sheaths in the type specimen; sheaths are usually armed so the name is not very appropriate. (Dransfield, J. 1984. The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13. Sabah Forest Department.)A

This species is rather invariable in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra; in Borneo, variation is quite complex, so much so that one previously described species C. mucronatus Becc. has had to be incuded as a variety of C. laevigatus, and one new variety, C. laevigatus var. serpentinus Dransf. has been described. Even after this, C. laevigatus Mar. laevigatus in Sabah remains a variable taxon, with one form with very narrow leaflets being particularly striking, but connected up to more typical forms by intermediates. It must also be noted that C. kiahii is closely related, though retained as distinct in this treatment. In its greatest variation being confined to Borneo, C. laevigatus parallels other taxa such as C. javensis. (Dransfield, J. 1984. The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13. Sabah Forest Department.)A

A. Dransfield, J. 1984. The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13. Sabah Forest Department.