most rare nanners
 

hi

i am wondering, what is the most rare or weird species banana ?

i have seen balbisiana giganta seeds at a store , what is the difference between the normal one and this one ?

Re: most rare nanners
 

The most rare wild banana species are the ones you will likely never see sold. There are some on Borneo which are very rare and known only to live in very small populations. Most notable to me are Musa azizii and Musa bauensis which each have only been found in single, rather small, populations. Personally, one of my favorite wild banana species is Musa lawitiensis which has been described to be more like a Heliconia than any other Musa. There are also many other interesting species from Borneo such as M. voonii, M. borneensis, M. barioensis, M. monticola (very interesting species) and M. campestris to name a few.

Re: most rare nanners
 

While perhaps not the most rare, Musa ingens has to be one of the most unusual Musa species. It grows 60 ft. tall!

Musa balbisiana 'Gigantea' is supposedly a more "robust" form of the species, and it holds on to the male bracts on the rachis. That's the only differences I'm aware of.

Re: most rare nanners
 

Rare species will hatch and grow in rather specific conditions.... so mostly thats why they are "rare" ;-(
Balbisiana on the other hand is easy; they do just fine at fluctuating temps (10 hours 25-30*C and 14 hours 10-15*C).

Succes

Re: most rare nanners
 

What about the pregnant banana or whatever it's called? Not sure if its a true variety or just a freak thing that happens, Gabe'll know. I think I remember a post on it a while back.??:confused:

Re: most rare nanners
 

Mai'a Hapai (Pregnant Banana) is a very real variety, and I posted pictures of it from Kaua'i earlier I think. Though a somewhat rare edible variety, it is not a species anyways.

Most M. balbisiana varieties hold onto their bracts for some time, but there are definitely some that drop the bracts. I'm not sure if it's more of a "nature" trait or more of a "nurture" trait, but I've seen it often present in varying degrees on many different forms of the species.

Re: most rare nanners
 

I've seen some Musa balbisiana hold onto several old bracts at a time, but most that I've seen (and you have probably seen more!) have had a relatively clean rachis. According to Cheesman:

"bracts usually soon deciduous after flowering but occasionally persistent in a withered condition, especially in the later stages of blooming."

This new variety holds onto all of its bracts on the rachis, even in the earlier stages of blooming. I just hope I get to see mine bloom someday!

Re: most rare nanners
 

do you know those two bananas growing in Philippines: pilipita and paguha ?they are wild varieties with seeds...

Re: most rare nanners
 

about these varieties i found an article on the web which have some interest:
Going Bananas on Siargao Island

Re: most rare nanners
 

The 'Paguha' appears to be Musa balbisiana and the 'Pelipita' is an edible variety also available here in the US, it tends to form seeds if pollen is present but otherwise it is a seedless edible banana.

Re: most rare nanners
 

So is it possible to control this fact and obtain a propagation of this variety in one case and to produce seedless edible bananas in the other case?

Re: most rare nanners
 

Interesting, I'm glad to have learned something by reading this thread. Rare bananas are hard to come by, huh?

Dean

Re: most rare nanners
 

The Island is Borneo, the Indonesian part is Kalamantan. I travelled that area a few years back. Saw Durians, Bananas, Orangutans and Headhunters.


Very Interesting!!

Re: most rare nanners
 

I wanted to pick this thread back up based on a discussion of whether Musa Siam ruby fruit in that discussion Brian Williams clams that he got his first SR indirectly from Borneo and not PNG so if this bares out to be true dos that help any one on the origins of this alleged Musa Tapo?

Re: most rare nanners
 

Whats PNG?
:woohoonaner:

Re: most rare nanners
 

Papua New Guinea,

Re: most rare nanners
 

any thoughts on this sunfish? I'm going to hammer on this until i get the answer I'm tenacious when it comes to finding stuff out hehehe

Re: most rare nanners
 

I'M LOOKING.