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View Full Version : Need help i.d.ing a bnana plant


jimhardy
09-23-2009, 09:39 PM
Wondering if anyone might have an idea what kind of nanar this is,I know it's tough from pics but I thought I'd give it a shot,here are some pics.

http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/42219/2327829130105497902S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2327829130105497902cEXBUB)


http://inlinethumb20.webshots.com/45843/2744688610105497902S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2744688610105497902zvdixu)


http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/39677/2585678880105497902S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2585678880105497902CRaeVA)

island cassie
09-23-2009, 10:10 PM
Sorry Jim - not like any of mine!

jimhardy
09-27-2009, 09:41 AM
Anyone out there have any idea?

momoese
09-27-2009, 09:53 AM
You'll have better luck ID'ing it after it blooms.

pitangadiego
09-27-2009, 04:10 PM
Well, you can do a process of elimination.

1) Doesn't look like a Red, judging by the pseudostem color.
In my experience, the red bananas, even dwarf green red, have telltale red in the pseudostem and leaf petioles. Some are really obvious, but some such as Dwarf Green Red, Cuban Red, Dwarf Colorado blanco, and the life don't have a lot, but there are indications. See figs4fun home (http://webebananas.com) Many of my varieties have pictures there of the the leaf petiole looks like where it joins the pseudostem.
2) Doesn't look like one of the Cavendish varieties judging by the leaves.
In my experieince, Cavendish family plants have leaves that are more horizontal and/or droopy, whereas other varieties have leaves that are more erect, for instance Rose. In addition, most all of the cabendish varieties are dwarf, and this banana doesn't look like a dwarf.3) Doesn't look like Mona Lisa judging by the leaves.
4) Isn't AeAe, Zebrina, Ruby Siam, etc. based on leaves.
These all have very distinctive leaves, so are easily ruled out. Also, Mona Lisa (FHIA2) has a distinctive leaf, which is somewhat variagated/veined along the lines of looking somewhat nutrient deficient.
5) Doesn't appear to be a dwarf variety based on current height.
As noted above, this rules out the Cavendish family. Also rules out other dwarf/shorter varieties such as Raja Puri, Dwarf Namwah. Taller varieties tend to have more distance between each new leaf. And most bananas seem to have leaves which are closer together when the pseudostem reaches flowering height, and this one does not show that characteristic.
6) Doesn't appear to be Misi Luki, Namwah or Belle judging from the color of the trunk.
These seem to have a lighter/lime green color in their pseudostems. Again, see pix at We Be Bananas.
7) If the trunk stays slender, then you can probably rule out Brazilian, Saba, Praying Hands, Monthan, Sweetheart, etc.
These varieties have very think pseudostems, and even at this height should really be thicker if it is one of these varieties. In contrast, Pisang Ceylon, Mysore, Ebun Misak, Popo'ulu, etc. are very slender in their pseudostem.

The point here was to lay out a strategy for determining what your banana is, which is really done more by eliminating ones that it clearly is not, and then making a more careful analysis of the ones which are left. Ruling out many possibilities allows you to focus on a smaller set of possibilities. Think of it as detective work, and each clue brings you a little closer to solving the puzzle.

Obviously, flowering and fruting will be more instructive, in the end. Hua Moa and Popo'ulu have a characteristically shaped fruit (very blunt or round nosed). Ice Cream bananas have a distinctive color when they are unripe (a silve/gray/blue color). Lakatan has a fairly distinctive slender fruit. Thousand fingers is fairly identifiable from its flowering habit. Misi Luki, Belle, and Namwah have a faily distinctive shape and lighter skin color when green. Ebun Musak barely changed color when ripening. The flowers, esp. the male ones, are quite distinctive and unique to each variety in my experieince, though the most/all of the reds are very very similar. But even there, you can be pretty sure it is a red tyrpe by the flower. Sometimes getting accurate info or "standard references" to judge you variety by is not easy. That is where the pix at We Be Bananas, this forum, and other resources help, but are sitill far from complete.

Jananas Bananas
09-27-2009, 05:38 PM
Well, you can do a process of elimination.

1) Doesn't look like a Red, judging by the pseudostem color.
2) Doesn't look like one of the Cavendish varieties judging by the leaves.
3) Doesn't look like Mona Lisa judging by the leaves.
4) Isn't AeAe, Zebrina, Ruby Siam, etc. based on leaves.
5) Doesn't appear to be a dwarf variety based on current height
6) Doesn't appear to be Misi Luki, Namwah or Belle judging from the color of the trunk.
7) If the trunk stays slender, then you can probably rule out Brazilian, Saba, Praying Hands, Monthan, Sweetheart, etc.

If this isn't already posted somewhere (that I haven't found yet) these are great suggestions. Could you take it and elaborate a bit, example:
1) Doesn't look like a Red, judging by the pseudostem color - red will have peachy red pstem
2) Doesn't look like one of the Cavendish varieties judging by the leaves - new cavendish leaves have mottled maroon splotching.
I don't know or I would put them in. Thanks! ~JaNan

jimhardy
09-27-2009, 08:37 PM
new cavendish leaves have mottled maroon splotching.[/I][/COLOR][/C n't











Usually only when plants are smaller





Thanks Pit
Pretty sure what it's not,still trying to find out what it IS (-:

coast crab
09-27-2009, 08:54 PM
Orinoco?????????????????????????????????????????

Taylor
09-27-2009, 09:04 PM
Musa 'Orinoco'. Definitely an Orinoco type, and the trunk is too slender at that height to be a Dwarf Orinoco, so (Tall) Orinoco it is.

frog7994
09-27-2009, 09:27 PM
??

jimhardy
09-27-2009, 09:50 PM
That was my original thought too but all the pics I have seen of Orinocos had skinnier leaves. ????? Sure about that?,do you know of any pics I could look at that have Orinocos with fatter leaves like this one?



After looking through the gallery...........I don't think it's Orinoco,Ice cream or Raja puri,although it probably is most similar to Raja.No red blotches on leaves of smaller plants though.Hmmm.....................

sunfish
09-27-2009, 10:51 PM
Goldfinger?

Taylor
09-27-2009, 10:53 PM
Looks nothing like Raja puri.

momoese
09-28-2009, 12:29 AM
Too tall to be Raja Puri, and it's definitely not a dwarf. Something about the leaves looks like Ice Cream to me.

jimhardy
09-28-2009, 08:12 PM
After looking through a few dozen pics of Java,I now believe this looks most like an Ice cream banana.The thickness of the leaves,same green coloring and similar waxing or white/blue cast at base of leaves really fits all the Java pics I've seen:02: very cool!

LilRaverBoi
09-28-2009, 09:03 PM
Doesn't quite look like my IC (but I can't quite see in detail on your pics). Mine has a light pink/powdery-white stem, light pink midribs/petioles on the leaves and a dark pink outline on every leaf. Maybe look for these things on yours. Here's a pic of mine but you can't necessarily see all the details I described.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=19822&size=1

pitangadiego
09-28-2009, 10:56 PM
Jananas, see edits above. Come for a visit, and you can see close to 100 in-ground, full grown varieties. Seeing and touching is worth a 1000 pix.

momoese
09-28-2009, 11:43 PM
Doesn't quite look like my IC (but I can't quite see in detail on your pics). Mine has a light pink/powdery-white stem, light pink midribs/petioles on the leaves and a dark pink outline on every leaf. Maybe look for these things on yours. Here's a pic of mine but you can't necessarily see all the details I described.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=19822&size=1

These things can change as they grow. Some mature IC's have no powder on the Psuedostems at all. My IC had some white while rooting in a container, but after months of growing in the ground it had none. It's parents had none either but the fruit was very silvery blue and cool looking! This particular IC stand was a huge inspiration for my current banana growing addiction.

Jananas Bananas
09-29-2009, 04:34 AM
Well, you can do a process of elimination.

1) Doesn't look like a Red, judging by the pseudostem color.
In my experience, the red bananas, even dwarf green red, have telltale red in the pseudostem and leaf petioles. Some are really obvious, but some such as Dwarf Green Red, Cuban Red, Dwarf Colorado blanco, and the life don't have a lot, but there are indications. See figs4fun home (http://webebananas.com) Many of my varieties have pictures there of the the leaf petiole looks like where it joins the pseudostem.
2) Doesn't look like one of the Cavendish varieties judging by the leaves.
In my experieince, Cavendish family plants have leaves that are more horizontal and/or droopy, whereas other varieties have leaves that are more erect, for instance Rose. In addition, most all of the cabendish varieties are dwarf, and this banana doesn't look like a dwarf.3) Doesn't look like Mona Lisa judging by the leaves.
4) Isn't AeAe, Zebrina, Ruby Siam, etc. based on leaves.
These all have very distinctive leaves, so are easily ruled out. Also, Mona Lisa (FHIA2) has a distinctive leaf, which is somewhat variagated/veined along the lines of looking somewhat nutrient deficient.
5) Doesn't appear to be a dwarf variety based on current height.
As noted above, this rules out the Cavendish family. Also rules out other dwarf/shorter varieties such as Raja Puri, Dwarf Namwah. Taller varieties tend to have more distance between each new leaf. And most bananas seem to have leaves which are closer together when the pseudostem reaches flowering height, and this one does not show that characteristic.
6) Doesn't appear to be Misi Luki, Namwah or Belle judging from the color of the trunk.
These seem to have a lighter/lime green color in their pseudostems. Again, see pix at We Be Bananas.
7) If the trunk stays slender, then you can probably rule out Brazilian, Saba, Praying Hands, Monthan, Sweetheart, etc.
These varieties have very think pseudostems, and even at this height should really be thicker if it is one of these varieties. In contrast, Pisang Ceylon, Mysore, Ebun Misak, Popo'ulu, etc. are very slender in their pseudostem.

The point here was to lay out a strategy for determining what your banana is, which is really done more by eliminating ones that it clearly is not, and then making a more careful analysis of the ones which are left. Ruling out many possibilities allows you to focus on a smaller set of possibilities. Think of it as detective work, and each clue brings you a little closer to solving the puzzle.

Obviously, flowering and fruting will be more instructive, in the end. Hua Moa and Popo'ulu have a characteristically shaped fruit (very blunt or round nosed). Ice Cream bananas have a distinctive color when they are unripe (a silve/gray/blue color). Lakatan has a fairly distinctive slender fruit. Thousand fingers is fairly identifiable from its flowering habit. Misi Luki, Belle, and Namwah have a faily distinctive shape and lighter skin color when green. Ebun Musak barely changed color when ripening. The flowers, esp. the male ones, are quite distinctive and unique to each variety in my experieince, though the most/all of the reds are very very similar. But even there, you can be pretty sure it is a red tyrpe by the flower. Sometimes getting accurate info or "standard references" to judge you variety by is not easy. That is where the pix at We Be Bananas, this forum, and other resources help, but are sitill far from complete.

Excellent, Excellent, EXCELLENT!!!! A Pinch, a Peck, and a Hug around the neck for you! This needs to be permanently posted somewhere for all to see and refer to. THANK YOU so much! ~JaNan

jimhardy
09-29-2009, 08:55 AM
I agree and thanks for posting that!
Janana

Jananas Bananas
09-30-2009, 07:11 AM
Jananas, see edits above. Come for a visit, and you can see close to 100 in-ground, full grown varieties. Seeing and touching is worth a 1000 pix.

If you were closer to me I would be all over this invitation, I would be there TODAY!!!! That would be so much fun! For now I will have to peruse your pictures and memorize your words. I do have a very good friend that lives in Riverside that I haven't seen in years. Hmmmmmmm! :0519:

Your welcome JimHardy! But all I did as copy the quote from below. Pitangadiego filled it all in for us. :waving:

jimhardy
09-30-2009, 11:27 AM
Thank you both then:nanadrink:
I looked at the figs4fun site....WOW!,lot's of banana pics.
I think this plant looks like an Orinoco,at least from some baby pics of Orinoco but the pics of lager O's seem to have narrower leaves then this one,that's why I think it fits with Blue Java(Ice cream) better.I guess since I.C.is technically Orinoco that it's an Orinoco either way?I guess I will find out if it blooms next year(-: