View Full Version : Lakatan or Lacatan ?
sunfish
07-14-2011, 04:57 PM
Lakatan World's Best Tasting Banana - Digg (http://digg.com/news/story/Lakatan_World_s_Best_Tasting_Banana)
chong
07-15-2011, 01:58 AM
They are the same. Before the "nationalization" of the Philippine language during Marcos' regime (specifically around 1964-65) Lacatan was spelled with a "c" and not "k". Even though the Tagalog alphabet does not contain the letter "c", many words contain the letter "c". For example, the seat of the pure Tagalog language is the province of Bulacan. This is my father's home province, and I can personally speak very "deep" Tagalog, sometimes to the amazement of many of my friends from Manila, where Tagalog is the vernacular. In Manila, Tagalog is spoken with a mixture of English and Spanish words. My mom's home province is Camarines Sur(South Sacristy), the next province south of Camarines Norte(North Sacristy).
English was the medium of instruction, commerce, and government before 1964. After the nationalization of the language, Tagalog became the official medium, and hence spelling of many Tagalog words which contained "foreign" letters, i.e., c, f, j, q, v, x, and z, were changed with letters closest to the consonant sound. Lacatan became lakatan, Filipino became Pilipino, etc. Ironically, Bulacan stayed as is, as did most of the other provinces, e.g., Quezon, Zamboanga, Davao, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, etc. The Ilocos provinces (Norte and Sur) were sometimes changed to Ilokos, and Ilocano was changed to Ilokano. Similarly, some nationalists and younger folks from my mom's home province and region, Bicol region, changed to Bicol to Bikol. The Bicol language, ironically, did not contain the letter k. The language has at least a dozen dialects.
According to the owner of a Florida banana plant company, Lacatan and Lakatan are only distiguished by size and origin. He claims that they are the same plant otherwise. Lacatan he says comes from the Carribean and is shorter than the Lakatan from the Philippines, but the fruit is the same. But according to some books I've read on bananas, though, the Carribean Lacatan is not the same as the one from the Philippines.
http://www.bananas.org/f2/lakatan-same-lacatan-12342.html#post138976
venturabananas
07-15-2011, 10:08 AM
Chong, thanks for the info on languages and spelling in the Philippines.
I think the "Florida banana company" is confused on this one -- understandably. The "Lacatan" of the Caribbean is a Cavendish clone in the tallest Cavendish group (Valery, etc.). Banana scientists seem to agree that the "Lakatan" (spelling flexible, depending on source) cultivars from the Philippines are genetically different, though similar to Cavendish. There seems to be disagreement as to whether they have an AA or AAA genome. (Cavendish is AAA.) Reading and looking at photos, the only really distinct features I see of Lakatan vs. Cavendish cultivars is firmer fruit and more erect leaves.
I guess Dan Koeppel (the banana book author) has changed his mind about his favorite banana. At a Christmas party last year, he told me the best he's ever had is Yangambi KM5. By a strange coincidence, he happens to be a good friend of one of my friends. What I couldn't believe is that he's not growing any bananas at his house in Los Angeles!
sunfish
07-15-2011, 10:36 AM
Chong, thanks for the info on languages and spelling in the Philippines.
I think the "Florida banana company" is confused on this one -- understandably. The "Lacatan" of the Caribbean is a Cavendish clone in the tallest Cavendish group (Valery, etc.). Banana scientists seem to agree that the "Lakatan" (spelling flexible, depending on source) cultivars from the Philippines are genetically different, though similar to Cavendish. There seems to be disagreement as to whether they have an AA or AAA genome. (Cavendish is AAA.) Reading and looking at photos, the only really distinct features I see of Lakatan vs. Cavendish cultivars is firmer fruit and more erect leaves.
I guess Dan Koeppel (the banana book author) has changed his mind about his favorite banana. At a Christmas party last year, he told me the best he's ever had is Yangambi KM5. By a strange coincidence, he happens to be a good friend of one of my friends. What I couldn't believe is that he's not growing any bananas at his house in Los Angeles!
Good I have both of them.I'm covered
venturabananas
07-15-2011, 10:50 AM
Me too, can't wait to try either -- or any banana that I produce myself, rather than bumming them off you and my other friends in bananamania! :ha:
PR-Giants
10-25-2012, 07:32 PM
Lakatan World's Best Tasting Banana - Digg (http://digg.com/news/story/Lakatan_World_s_Best_Tasting_Banana)
Nice Link
venturabananas
10-26-2012, 01:02 PM
I've since learned that the tall Cavendish clone "Lacatan" is distinguishable from the true "Lakatan" of the Philippines by the shape of the male bud. The end of it is rounded in the Lakatan subgroup, but not it the Cavendish subgroup.
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