Mini Plaintains
 

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Mini Plaintains
 

I've heard of the mini banana plants like... musa mini prince and the like but I haven't heard of an actual Plaintain this small. What do you all think?

Mini Plantain Banana Tree - eBay (item 160263087920 end time Jul-25-08 21:54:39 PDT)

NVM, I misread the thing, they meant the plaintains were small, not the plant. The plant gets to 18'-20'. But still I'm curious as to what sort it is.

I apologize I do not know why it double posted. Maybe because back-clicked to fix a few mistakes. ((Was having internet issues)) my apologies.

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

My guess would be that it is something like 'Hua Moa' or 'Popoulu'. Though, don't believe they are true plantains, like 'African Rhino Horn'.

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

Thanks for the reply. It would be nice if these sellers would actually post what the variety is....

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

I could be wrong...I was thinking that the fruit on Hua Moa stayed small (short) but I checked it on the Wiki and it can get longer than I thought and I believe that Popoulu gets sort of long too. I should have checked before I posted my reply. I wonder if it could be Pitogo? They are short compared to a regular plantain, but much more rounded, sort of like a tennis ball. Though I have seen pics that look somewhat more egg-shaped. Who knows what it really is.

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

Well I think you've given it a pretty good shot. All these mystery nanners on ebay *shrugs*, Pitogo sounds plausible actually. It's the only other one that I know of that could have *mini* plantains. Other then the Hua Moa like you previously mentioned.

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

Hua Moa/Popoulu are by no means "minis". On the contrary, they are the biggest (fattest) bananas on the planet. In fact, “Popoulu” means “ball-shaped like breadfruit”, in Hawaiian. Although these bananas are usually cooked, they can be eaten out of hand if they are made to ripen fully, to the point that the skin is almost all black. So, for that matter, Hua Moa/Popoulu are not true plantains.

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

Actually I knew that about Hua Moa (not being true plantains that is). I think Bananaman and I are going by what the seller is describing as the length and not so much mass-wise. It's ebay... and it was fairly poorly described anyways without even the name of the cultivator. *shrug* You know how ebay is... lol. The first time I read it I thought he was talking about a small plant :/

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

(Follow-up) Pitogo, being a close relative of the Saba, Praying Hands, Cardaba, etc., is not a true plantain either. Further, I would not consider Pitogo's fruits, small. Small to me is like the Señorita, Viente Cohol, Rose, or even, Mysore.

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

Have you seen the Popoulu fruits that Harvey got from his friend? They were almost 8 inches. That's short? But yes, I know what you mean about some eBay Sellers. They are Lee Iaccoca wannabes.

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

Not related to the eBay plant, but to Hua Moa...some of the fruits can be rather small, depends on the growing conditions and where on the bunch it was from. But most of the time, they are still pretty big.

Re: Mini Plaintains
 

Thanks Gabe. Those are very nice pictures.