Rattans or canes are a group of trailing or climbing palms with characteristic scaly fruits. They comprise more than fifty per cent of the total palm taxa found in India (Basu, 1985) and form typical components of the moist forests in the Western Ghats, sub-Himalayan hills, valleys of Eastern and North-eastern India and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Over 70 species of rattans from five genera occur in different bioclimatic regions of the country (Thomas et al., 1999). Of these, nearly 73 per cent of the species are endemic to the country (Renuka, 1992; 1995). Next to China, India is one of the richest sources of canes in the world (see Box 1). The canes are a very important source of livelihood for the economically and socially weaker sections of the community. It is estimated that more than half a million people are directly employed in harvesting and processing of rattans in the rural areas of Southeast Asia. In Indonesia more than 80,000 workers are employed in the rattan industry with a total export value of US $ 200 million (Asiaweek, 1988). In Malaysia, the rattan- based industries employ over 15,000 people in collection activities and many more in processing (Kiew, 1991). In India, in the state of Kerala alone, over 3,00,000 people are involved in cane-based industries (Anonymous, 1983). It is estimated that the annual global revenue from rattan trade exceeds US $ 6.7 billion (Manokaran, 1990). As the world’s demand for rattan and rattan products is increasing, there is a tremendous pressure on the natural population of rattans. For instance, almost all of the cane requirements in the country are met from the extraction of the natural populations (see Box 2). Besides the extraction pressures, rattans are also severely threatened by changes in land use patterns such as conversion of forest lands to agriculture and plantations and by other anthropogenic activities such as irrigation and power projects (Biswas, 1991). The threat is accentuated by the fact that canes are dioecious and because of their premature harvest, they rarely come to flowering and fruiting. Since reproduction of canes is mostly through seeds, the poor seed set adversely affects regeneration of the species. In recent years, there is an increasing concern over the loss of natural populations of canes in South and Southeast Asia. A number of endemic species are already on the verge of being highly threatened and endangered (Lakshmana, 1995). As many as 13 endemic species of canes in India are commercially exploited (Rawat, 1996; Basu, 1985; Sas et al., 1995). According to the Red Data Book on Indian plants in the Western Ghats, two of the species, C. pseudofeanus and C. rheedii are already extinct, with a few more being critically endangered (Renuka, 1999). The status of the different species of rattans is far less clear in the Eastern Himalayan forests and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Precise documentation of the threats to the various species is also compounded by the fact that it is often difficult to identify the species, especially so when the canes are young and not reproducing. In fact, it is conjectured that in the Western Ghats alone, there might be about 5 or 6 species yet to be identified and described (Renuka, 1995). Clearly, therefore, there is an urgent need to conserve the genetic resources of these climbing palms in their natural habitats in the country and forestall the genetic deterioration of their population due to indiscriminate harvesting.