Calamus platyspathus Mart. ex Kunth

Slender, clustering rattan. Stems climbing to 25 m long, without sheaths 1.2–1.6 cm diam., with sheaths 2.5–3.9 cm diam., internodes 20–45 cm long. Leaves ecirrate; sheaths green with abundant upward-pointing flattened brown to blackish spines, varying from 2–4 cm long, the spines sometimes with several points, the larger spines interspersed with numerous needle-like spines, caducous reddish brown indumentum abundant between the spines, spines around the leaf sheath mouth much larger than the rest, to 8 cm long; knee conspicuous, armed with needle-like spines; ocrea to 10 cm long, pale brown, papery and soon disintegrating; flagellum to 1–3.5 m long; petiole to 25 cm long, armed as the sheath but with smaller spines; rachis 80–170 cm long; leaflets 4–8, regularly or slightly irregularly arranged but rather distant, the largest to 55 x 8 cm, somewhat cucullate, conspicuously discolorous, adaxially bright to dark green, densely covered in chalky white indumentum abaxially, apical pair free or joined in basal half, rachis to 0.8 m long. Inforescences male and female superficially similar, with a terminal flagellum and with up to 4 partial inflorescences, each subtended by a conspicuous open bract tubular at the very base, the male branched to 3 orders, the female to 2 orders; male rachillae to 4 x 0.1 cm, female rachillae to 8 x 0.2 cm. Fruit rounded, to 8 cm diam., with a short beak to 0.1 x 0.1 cm, and covered in vertical rows of whitish scales. Seed c. 0.6 cm diam., endosperm homogeneous.