Rattan is a wild plant fiber classified as a palm, from the Calamoideae subfamily. In sight, it is a liana with thorns, clings to the trees and can reach 200 meters long. Sometimes rattan is confused with bamboo, but they are two very different plants: rattan is fibrous, full and flexible, bamboo is fibrous, hollow and rigid.
Rattan is essential to the tropical ecosystem as it clings to trees and becomes a communication cable for other plants and animals. In the world there are 13 known types of rattan, with almost 600 varieties in total; the Calamus genus only represents almost 400 varieties.