Environmental Impact on Duration of Flowering and Fruiting of Rattan (calamus Castaneus) in Peninsular Malaysia

The phenological events of rattan were seldomly studied due to its nature of survival by climbing on other trees (i.e., liana). However, some rattans are non-climbing and found to produce fruits throughout the year. Therefore, it aimed to record Calamus castaneus duration of flowering and fruiting over a year and identify which environmental variables affect the duration. This study was conducted for 12 months in three forest reserves, namely Bukit Mertajam Forest Eco-Park (BMFEP), Teluk Bahang Forest Reserve (TBFR), and Segari Melintang Forest Reserve (SMFR). Five study plots (10 m x 10 m each) were established, and overall, 53 C. castaneus individual palm in the plots were monitored. Findings have revealed that female inflorescences bloomed shorter than males. Also, C. castaneus fruits take about three to four months to get matured. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) highly regulated the event by microclimate and locality. Thus. the flowering and fruiting duration may not directly be affected by a very specific environmental factor.