How do I select and buy rattan furniture? When discussing furniture materials, wood is the first thing that comes to mind. The color, texture, and unique taste of natural materials that increase with use are truly attractive. On the other hand, "rattan" furniture has been gaining popularity recently as the same natural material. Some people may ask, "What is that?" but rattan has various charms that wood and steel do not have. What kind of material is rattan? A member of the palm family, rattan naturally grows in tropical rainforests, primarily in Southeast Asia. It is a climbing plant covered by a knotty, spiny epidermis. Its fibers are said to be the longest and strongest among the plants, and some of them are over 200 meters long, entwining themselves with other trees and stretching toward the sky. It takes roughly five years to reach a size that can be processed. Because of its strong vitality, it is stronger and less likely to break than ordinary wood, and it is easy to process curves.