Gabe15

I was hiking a few weeks ago and found this nice clump of fe'i banana in the back of the valley where I live. It is possibly the variety 'Aiuri', but it was not fruiting at the time. I will be going back in a few weeks to see if I can catch it fruiting as it looked very close to doing so. I was able to get one sucker (barely) and put it into tissue culture. There is supposedly a few more clumps in the area, but this is the only one I've seen. In the next valley over, Palolo, there is supposed to be a rather large mat there too and also 'Mai'a Hapai', the 'Pregnant Banana'. I also have 2 other fe'i banana, one might be the same as this one but the other is a different variety called 'Poti'a' with very large, grapefruit-like (in size) fruits. I hope to have these available to you all by the end of the year.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

pitangadiego

That sounds great!!

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Randy4ut

Interesting, Gabe... Must be nice to be able to go out hiking and bring home a prize like that!!! Is the cut pstem that you are holding the pup? Purple pstem? Can you tell me a little more about this nanner? Good luck on the tc of it and thanks for offering to share your wealth!!!

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Gabe15

thats my friend holding the cut pseudostem of a pup showing the characteristic pink/purple sap.

fe'i bananas are a group of cooking bananas belonging to the subgenera Australimusa (as opposed to Eumusa as is the case with other edible bananas) and evolved completely separate from the bananas we are most familiar with. They were once an important food, but have been replaced by other crops and are harder to come by these days, the plants are virtually unknown in the horticulture trade and rare to see even in botanic gardens. They generally have erect bunches and fruits with a bright orange pulp.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Dean W.

Gabe,

Interesting find, good luck w/ her. She is a real beauty.

Dean

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mskitty38583

she really is a beauty. i like the pink sap, i find that interesting. and yes i believe that this would be one of the few tc nanas that i would like to have. gabe do you know if it pups readily? or is it slow to pup? and the overall height? let us know when you have some ready to go i would like one. as long as its closer to the fall season. thanks for posting this nana, i really like it.

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ryan

the pink sap is RAVISHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

could someone provide a little bit more info on the fei bananas and their status in cultivation/ preservation and their significance?

Bananaman88

Love that dark pseudostem! Reminds me somewhat of the black balbisiana that Jarred had on here not too long ago.

ryan

i ll go take some leaves off my black balbi and see what color is the spongy tissue inside. have a disappointing feeling that it would be white...

Steve in France

Great pics Gabe, looking forward to more. I hope all is well with you and your Studies.
Best Wishes
Steve

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Always looking for a lost pup

Rmplmnz

Flickr photo of a fe'i

Musa fehi, fe‘i banana | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Tahitian fehi/fe‘i banana (Musa troglodytarum cultivar Poti‘a), Waimea Falls Park, Oahu, April 2012: called mai‘a Polapola in Hawaiian because introduced from Borabora, Tahiti