What Is Rattan?

Rattan is a type of climbing or trailing vine-like palm native to the tropical jungles of Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. One of the largest sources has been the Philippines. Palasan rattan can be identified by its tough, solid stems that vary from 1 to 2 inches in diameter and its vines, which grow as long as 200 to 500 feet.

When rattan is harvested, it is cut into 13-foot lengths, and the dry sheathing is removed. Its stems are dried in the sun and stored for seasoning. Then, these long rattan poles are straightened, graded by diameter and quality (judged by its nodes; the fewer internodes, the better), and shipped to furniture manufacturers. Rattan's outer bark is used for caning, while its inner reed-like section is used to weave wicker furniture. Wicker is the weaving process, not an actual plant or material. Introduced to the West during the early 19th century, rattan has become the standard material for caning. Its strength and ease of manipulation (manipulability) have made it one of the most popular of the many natural materials used in wickerwork.

Rattan's Attributes

Its popularity as a material for furniture—both outdoor and indoor—is unmistakable. Able to be bent and curved, rattan takes on many wonderful curving forms. Its light, golden color brightens a room or outdoor environment and instantly conveys a feeling of a tropical paradise.

As a material, rattan is lightweight and almost impervious and is easy to move and handle. It can withstand extreme conditions of humidity and temperature and has a natural resistance to insects.

When the outer bark of the rattan plant is used, it is referred to as rattan cane. This material is not as porous as standard rattan, so it holds up better in damp environments like bathrooms.

How Rattan Is Used

Rattan is used in a variety of ways, but some examples of rattan products include chairs, tables, baskets, sporting goods, and even birdcages, just to name a few.

Rattan vs. Bamboo

For the record, rattan and bamboo are not from the same plant or species. Bamboo is a hollow grass with horizontal growth ridges along its stems. It was used to build small pieces of furniture and accessories in the late 1800s and early 1900s, especially in tropical locales. A few bamboo furniture manufacturers incorporated rattan poles for their smoothness and added strength.

Rattan vs. Cane

Rattan cane is quite durable and refers to the outer bark of the rattan plant. Woven rattan pieces that are often thinner tend to be made with cane, such as lightweight baskets and the backs of chairs. When furniture requires more strength, they are usually made of regular rattan.

Rattan cane is also less porous and requires less treatment. This makes it ideal for environments of high humidity.

What Is Wicker?

The term wicker actually refers to a process, not a material. Wicker is a method of weaving, and there are many potential materials that may be used in wicker pieces, such as rattan. Other possible wicker materials include bamboo, reed, water hyacinth, and willow.

The Future Supply of Rattan

While rattan is used in a variety of products, the most important is the manufacture of furniture; rattan supports a global industry valued at more than US$4 billion per year, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Previously, much of the commercially harvested raw vine was exported to overseas manufacturers. By the mid-1980s, however, Indonesia introduced an export ban on raw rattan vine to encourage the local manufacture of rattan furniture. 

Until recently, almost all rattan was collected from tropical rainforests. With forest destruction and conversion, the habitat area of rattan has decreased rapidly over the last few decades, and rattan has experienced a supply shortage. Indonesia and a district of Borneo are the only two places in the world that produce rattan certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Because it needs trees to grow, rattan can provide an incentive for communities to conserve and restore the forest on their land.