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View Full Version : A Basjoo pilgrimage of sorts


deruo
12-10-2010, 10:29 PM
I was in Okinawa, Japan this past week and uploaded a few pics in my gallery, but thought I'd link to one of them here.

I thought of all of you while I was there. I could have used my entire memory card on photos but tried to restrain myself.

Most of the plants on the island have VERY tattered leaves from the winds (and I've rarely experienced the heavy rains we had on Monday this week... and I've lived through "super typhoons" before) It's also interesting that though many people have mats of plants on their property or scattered about everywhere, it doesn't seem like they get the love and attention "grooming-wise" that we'd give them here ;-)

The number of plants was nowhere near as populous as they were in Funchal, Portugal when I was there earlier this year (where there were fields full of them), but some of them here were a very good size, as you can see here with a bunch planted next to a one story building on the grounds of Shuri Castle.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=39250&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39250)

I hope you all enjoy!

Gabe15
12-11-2010, 11:05 AM
Those actually aren't M. basjoo, they look to be perhaps M. balbisiana is which is the real "Japanese Fiber Banana" (or rather a specific form of it). It also could be some edible type but it is hard to tell because of the small photo and no blooms.

Mauro Gibo
12-11-2010, 05:59 PM
I was in Okinawa, Japan this past week and uploaded a few pics in my gallery, but thought I'd link to one of them here.

I thought of all of you while I was there. I could have used my entire memory card on photos but tried to restrain myself.

Most of the plants on the island have VERY tattered leaves from the winds (and I've rarely experienced the heavy rains we had on Monday this week... and I've lived through "super typhoons" before) It's also interesting that though many people have mats of plants on their property or scattered about everywhere, it doesn't seem like they get the love and attention "grooming-wise" that we'd give them here ;-)

The number of plants was nowhere near as populous as they were in Funchal, Portugal when I was there earlier this year (where there were fields full of them), but some of them here were a very good size, as you can see here with a bunch planted next to a one story building on the grounds of Shuri Castle.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=39250&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39250)

I hope you all enjoy! Hi! The banana in the picture is the musa liukiuensis or ito-bashou, Ryukyu Fiber Banana. The people of Okinawa used to weave kimonos out of the fiber of this banana. It does not produce edible fruit of course, but they are pretty much cold hardy. I have them planted here in zone 9a, Kameyama, Mie Prefecture, Japan. They can survive some frost, even snow.

Markku Hakkinen
12-12-2010, 03:44 AM
The botanical accepted name is Musa balbisiana var. liukiuensis. It is probably introduced from China in ancient times.
Markku.