Musa maclayi

Musa maclayi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Musaceae
Genus: Musa
Species: M. maclayi
Binomial name
Musa maclayi
F.Muell. ex Mikl.-Maclay[1]

Musa maclayi is a species of seeded banana native to Papua New Guinea and possibly the Solomon Islands.[2] It is placed in section Callimusa (now including the former section Australimusa).[3] It is regarded as one of the progenitors of the Fe'i banana cultivars.[4]

The plant has red sap and an upright flowering and fruiting stem.[5] The fruits are rounded and arranged closely together in bunches – partly joined along their edges in some varieties.[4]

The species was named after the explorer and naturalist Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay, who first described it:

"Besides the cultivated varieties, which have been obtained by exchange between the villages, there is to be found in the forest a wild Banana (Musa Maclayi F. v. M.), compared to the cultivated varieties, with a tall stem (nearly twice as tall), with narrow stiff leaves and small (not edible) fruits full of seeds."

Subspecies

Two subspecies[5][7] and two varieties[7] are known:

Notes and references

  1. "Musa maclayi". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  2. Musa maclayi F. Muell. ex Mikl.-Maclay on the GRIN web site.
  3. Wong, C.; Kiew, R.; Argent, G.; Set, O.; Lee, S.K. & Gan, Y.Y. (2002). "Assessment of the Validity of the Sections in Musa (Musaceae) using ALFP". Annals of Botany. 90 (2): 231–238. doi:10.1093/aob/mcf170.
  4. 1 2 Ploetz, R.C.; Kepler, A.K.; Daniells, J. & Nelson, S.C. (2007). "Banana and Plantain: An Overview with Emphasis on Pacific Island Cultivars". In Elevitch, C.R. Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry (PDF). Hōlualoa, Hawai'i: Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR). Retrieved 2013-01-10.
  5. 1 2 Sharrock, S. (2001). "Diversity in the genus Musa: focus on Australimusa". In INIBAP. Networking Banana and Plantain: INIBAP Annual Report 2000. Montpellier, France: International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain. pp. 14–19. External link in |title= (help);
  6. "List of plants in use by the natives of the Maclay-Coast, New Guinea", in The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales Vol. X 1885, p. 348
  7. 1 2 "Musa maclayi". Altlas of Living Australia. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
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