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Morphology and anatomy of bamboos and rattans commonly used in Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Thesis Abstract:
Bamboos and rattans have been intimately associated with the livelihoods and traditions of the Lao people for centuries. These two groups of plant have provided many raw materials and products widely used in Lao PDR. However, there was confusion on the local names of bamboos and rattans. Moreover, matching a product to the right species based on their raw material composition can be problematic. This study aimed to use a combination of morphological and anatomical procedures to identify the bamboos and rattans commonly used in Lao PDR. Bamboo and rattan specimens were collected from the wild and the semi-processed products were used to provide materials for studying their morphology and anatomy. Morphological characteristics were studied by using the specimens collected and compared with herbarium specimens and taxonomic books. Anatomical characteristics were studied by using a compound microscope. Ten species from six bamboo genera and seven species from two rattan genera were found. Descriptions of the morphology and anatomy of these species were provided. The culm cross-section of bamboos fell into three types (out of four) described by Wong (1995) as follows: Type I (Indosasa sinica); Type III (Bambusa blumeana, B. polymorpha, B. tulda, Dendrocalamus membranaceus, Gigantochloa albociliata, Schizostachyum virgatum, Schizostachyum sp., and Thyrsostachys siamensis); and Type IV (D. brandisii). Type II was not found in this study. The cane cross-section of rattans fell into two types (out of three) described by Siripatanadilok (1986) as follows: Type I (all six species of Calamus)and Type III (one species of Plectocomiopsis). Type II was also not found in this study.
This study provides a potential reference source for the identification of bamboos and rattans in their products. The information can be used for the matching of products with the raw materials in specific species.