Calamus guruba Buch.-ham. ex Mart.

Stems clustered, climbing or forming thickets, to 20 m, to 3 cm in diam. Leaf sheaths dull green with rusty brown or light brown hairs, with scattered to densely arranged, dark brown, flattened, upward-pointing spines to 3.5 cm (sometimes to 10 cm at sheath apices); ocreas conspicuous, tattering and soon falling; knees present; flagella to 3 m; rachis to 1.3 m with 30-65 linear-lanceolate pinnae per side, these regularly arranged, apical ones smaller than others; middle pinnae 25-45 cm, 1.7-2.2 cm wide at mid-point, adaxial and abaxial veins bristly; cirri absent. Inflorescences to 3 m, flagellate; inflorescence bracts not sheathing, split open and flat, brown. Fruits yellowish or brown, globose, to 0.8 cm in diam.

It is a tropical plant. In Laos it grows in scrub forest often near rivers. It grows between 100-750 m altitude. It can be up to 1,200 m above sea level. It grows in lowland rain forest and in dry forest. In Yunnan.

The spiny stem is removed and the young pith cooked with shrimp. The pulp of the ripe fruit is eaten.