Ask any plant vendor in Thailand about the
Siam Ruby and the reply will be "
Arai na?" or "What's that?" When you describe to them about a medium size red leafed 'naner, the reply will be, "
Er,er,Indo Dang" which translates to, "Ah, ah, the Red Indon".
Ha! Whoever conjured the name Siam Ruby sure did a great job in marketing. I was really curious about it, did some asking around and got the answer from an academic from Kasaesart University, Bangkok. According to him the plant was brought from Jakarta some years ago and a couple of enterprising nursery men in Bkk went and TC'd it. Now, the fun part is that it originally came from the Philippines to Indonesia! That's how the story goes. Can anyone add to this? Not that I am doubting my source...
