Donax canniformis, locally known as ‘bemban’ (Ridley & Curtis, 1902) is a shrub of about 1.5– 2.5 m, sometimes up to 4 m tall, with hard and upright woody, hollow stems that resemble smooth bamboo stems. The segmented stems grow to about 1 to 2 m tall before branching and producing leaves at each segment (Daud et al., 2011). The leaves of this species are big and broad, 15 to 38 cm by 8 to 21 cm, varying in shape from ovate to elliptic (Niissalo et al., 2016). The flower is white to yellowish white with a very light scent of jasmine and is about 1.7 to 1.9 cm long (Ardiyani et al., 2010; Niissalo et al., 2016). The fruits are round and smooth, and the colour changes from green to yellow when mature.

This species is common and widely distributed in Peninsular Malaysia. Often, it is found growing in damp, wet areas in secondary forests and bamboo thickets, as well as on the forest floors along rivers (Ibrahim & Amalina, 2017).