coast crab

I asked this question a month ago in another itinerans post but never got an answer so I thought I'd run it up the flagpole again.

How does yunnanensis really differ from itinerans? I see itinerans listed as the "Yunnan banana", why isn't yunnanensis just another variety of itinerans? I know some people are "lumpers" and some are "splittters" when it comes to classifying new plants - did the splitters describe it first?

And how big do yunnanensis and itinerans really get when the pstems make it through the winter? (as in the claims about var gigantea on ebay) My ice cream made it through last winter with leaf loss only and it is HUGE. We rarely have winters bad enough to damage pstems.

Thanks again.

Russell

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bigdog

Well, there are papers describing both species, both written by Markku Hakkinen. The main difference between Musa itinerans var. itinerans and Musa yunnanensis is the fact that M. itinerans var. itinerans sends pups out up to 6 feet away from the parent pseudostem. Also, M. yunnanensis is very waxy, but M. itinerans var. itinerans is not at all. However, M. itinerans var. chinensis is very similar to M. yunnanensis, exept for the flower and fruit. M. yunnanensis has a very lanceolate-shaped female bud, where M. itinerans has an ovate-shaped bud.

M. itinerans has been described for many years before Hakkinen came along and described 6 varieties (Cheesman, 1949).

As for how big they can get, that is in the descriptions also. I can't speak for how big they can get without freezing back in the winter, because mine freeze back in zone 7a.

Frank

coast crab

Thank you Frank.

I'm up to 30 bananas here at my house, so I'm officially out of space. About ten are still in pots and I'll find space for them next spring. Of course that does not mean that I won't take any and all that I can get my hands on. Luckily, the Botanical Gardens here has plenty of space and I'm the one designing the new Temperate Garden so guess who benefits from my weakness!

If anyone has ANY itinerans varieties available please let me know. I agree that Tennessee is no place to accurately judge size and/or pstem hardiness so I'm eager to give them a try here. I'm not asking for donations, but I really do want to see what these things do in a more moderate climate. Any help will be appreciated. I guess I'll end up putting an ad in the "wanteds".

Russell

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