Guys! Guys!
Like I've said before... I don't claim to be a banana expert, but this one is really not very difficult to work out.
Musa formosana is common throughout the mountains of Taiwan. It is the only banana that grows at considerable altitude.
Altitude ranges from close to sea level (approx. 50 m) to 1,800 m in the northern parts of Taiwan. In the central region (where the seeds I sell originate) the plant ranges from 300 m to 1,800 m or a bit higher. I only look for the plants over 600 m, because there are some cultivars grown up to around the 300m alt. In the south of the island the plant, or the southern form of the plant grows from sea-level to only about (I think)1000 m. I have yet to see continuation between the southern form and the high elevation form. The one you've got from me is the high elevation form; the common one, as described:
Musa formosana (Warb.) Hayata, Icon. Pl. Formosan. 6(Suppl.): 83 (1917).
Now to clear up misunderstandings about this plant. It has never been described as having waxy stems, but it has never been described as NOT having waxy stems either. However, as many of you have noticed the high elevation form does have somewhat waxy stems. The southern form does not.
The plant is clearly not part of the
M. itinerans complex...
M. formosana does not have remote suckering, pups are born directly off the parent rhizome. I have seen no bananas on the mainland of Taiwan that have remote suckering.
Here are some pictures taken at the highest elevation that I have found
M. formosana. Just over 1,800 m alt. These pictures show the typical form of the plant. There are no differences between high elevation plants throughout the island. They all look like these:
As you can see, they are a common species amongst the conifer cloud forest at high elevation. This picture below is the southern form of
Musa formosana growing at 150 m alt.:
There are no other species at these high elevations. There is absolutely no chance that these are not
Musa formosana. Have I said that already?
Enjoy!
Warm regards to everyone.
Phil Markey - Trebrown Nurseries - UK
Palm trees | Palm seeds | Cycad seeds | Species Database | Trebrown Nurseries | Online Shopping