Calamoideae


The Calamoideae are a subfamily of the palm family Arecaceae containing 21 genera and about 620 species. They are found almost exclusively in the Old World tropics, but with three genera and a single species of Raphia in the New World tropics. Calamoideae includes the rattan palms, whose stems are harvested for the production of cane furniture and many other products. All species have fruits covered in distinctive overlapping scales.
The name Calamoideae comes from the Greek κάλαμος meaning "reed."

Classification

The Calamoideae are divided into three tribes:
Some classifications combine all 5 genera of subtribe Calamineae into an expanded genus Calamus. This increases the size of what is already the largest palm genus at over 370 species to around 520.