Seeds for small, exceptinally beautiful ornamental banana available

Olafhenny · 02-24-2015, 04:33 PM

Several years ago, when I was still very new to this forum, I 'discovered' in Vietnam what I
thought was quite a find: an ornamental banana which was small enough do raise indoors to
maturity. Some of the more experienced and therefore jaded members quickly let me know,
that it was a Musa Ornata, while not as ubiquitous as some of the others, it was certainly not
unheard of and by no means a 'discovery'.

Now I am excited again about another strictly ornamental banana, which is much more
beautiful than the Ornata. I found it in Mindo, Ecuador in our landlord's garden. What struck
me was that in the same pad there were as many as 7, maybe more, PSs either in bloom or
fruit, with the B or F ranging between 2 and 4 feet above ground. I found it significant, that so
many of these plants were in B and F at the same time, which leads me to believe, that they
either grow to fruit very quickly or maintain their gorgeous B and F for along time. Either would
be a great asset. I could confirm neither with our landlord, since his English was just as poor as
my Spanish. My request for seeds yielded me a lecture, that bananas do not grow from seeds,
but spread out of rhizomes. However upon my insistance, he broke off one of the bananas and
handed it to me.

DSC00570 by Golestan2, on Flickr

This photo shows the whole pad with the B or F visible on it numbered from 1 to 7.
#5 is about 2 feet off the ground, while #2’s height is all of 4 feet.

The Spanish name, supplied by our landlord, is 'Platanillo Panoramio'. When I googled that,
among other things a map of Ecuador popped up, with a balloon right there, where I found the
specimen. Curiously enough, when I visited parks and botanic gardens in Ecuador thereafter,
I could not find any other Platanillos Panoramio in any of them.

After some more tries Mr. Google divulged a Latin name for it (there appear to be at least two
from different "discoveries"): Musa Velutina. There are a lot of seeds in each fruit, but just
to be sure, I planned on trying to con the landlord out of another fruit, just to be sure. But,
before I could do that, my wife spotted another plant at the roadside. Same beautiful red flower
and fruit. though the plant was a tad more scraggely, which is to be expected on the side of the
road vs a well maintained garden.

DSC00574 by Golestan2, on Flickr

Even when the bloom is gone the fruit still looks very attractive.
I do not know for how long, but from all appearances a long time.

When I opened the fruit later, I discovered, that the seeds from the garden raised fruit were
tan, while the roadside raised banana yielded black seeds. In apples and pears darker seeds
indicate a more advanced state of ripeness. But I am surmising, that in this case we are dealing
with different cultivars of the same species. Nevertheless, I am keeping the seeds separate.

DSC00701 by Golestan2, on Flickr

Sorry about the bad focus, but you get the idea.

In order to learn more about these bananas and their hardiness I would like to send a few of them to each of the following regions:
- Coastal BC HZ 8 or 9 (humid)
- Florida HZ 9, 10 or 11 (almost tropical)
- Arizona HZ 9 or 10 (arid)

The seeds are quite large, similar in shape to lentils and about 2/3rd in diameter. They may
therefore more easy to germinate than most banana seeds (or so I hope).

It is legal to import seeds into Canada (up to 9 oz of small seeds and 18 oz of large ones,
whatever that means) In the US that is not so, but I doubt, that a few seeds of a none-edible
fruit will destroy any US agricultural banana industry.

Thus if you are interested in obtaining any of the seeds, please send me a PM with your email
and snail mail address.

I only would ask you to let me know, how you are making out with your seeds and plants.
After all, my interest in all this is to learn more about the species under different conditions

Best,
Olaf
PS: The fruit are between 4 and 5 inches long

JP · 02-24-2015, 05:24 PM

Nice pics. I like the pink color, too bad they're not edible...

Olafhenny · 02-25-2015, 10:42 AM

After reviewing 'Platanillo Panoramio', now that I am back and have better computer
access, I have come to the conclusion, that it cannot be identical to the 'Musa Velutina',
maybe related, but not identical

The M.V. is shorter, edible and as the fruit ripens the peel peels back. If you wanted to
eat the P.P., you would need the stomach of a goat. Inside the fruit there are only seeds
and pulp, no fruit at all and I have seen no evidence of self peeling in the few P.Ps.,
which I have observed, it appears, that the 'Platanillo Panoramio' is more rare, than
I believed. Add to that the possibility, that there are two different cultivars, it makes
it a very interesting specimen.

RobG7aChattTN · 02-25-2015, 09:54 PM

I'm afraid my Musa velutina died off from being crowded out by other plants but a few people grow it in my area which is zone 7b. It requires mulch in the winter and dies to the ground but it comes up quickly from the rhizome. Mine always flowered later (maybe due to crowding) but others find it will usually ripen in one season even up here. The fruit is technically edible and tasty but as you mentioned mostly seed. If only it was seedless! The peels open almost like the petals on a flower with the fruit in the middle presented to the wildlife to eat.

Olafhenny · 02-25-2015, 11:50 PM

Hi Rob,

I am now almost certain, that the Platanillo Panoramio is not a M. Velutina. The fruit is
more elongated and of a deeper red and the pulp between the seeds is clearly not edible.
It is as fibrous as paper toweling, just a bit more firm, when moist.

The P.P. is clearly just for show, but that it does well. It is certainly the prettiest banana
I have ever seen, - by a long shot. What astonished me, was that there were that many
in bloom and/or fruit at the same time in that pad.

However I do think that the P.P. is closely related to the Velutina and I hope that it also
goes to bloom as fast as the Velutina does. That would be a great asset for cooler regions.

Best,
Olaf

02-24-2015, 04:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
Olafhenny Olafhenny's Photo Gallery Location: Penticton, BC, Okanagan Valley, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: Hardiness Zone 6 Name: Olaf Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,705 BananaBucks : 271,979 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,050 Times Was Thanked 2,012 Times in 876 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 77 Times	Seeds for small, exceptinally beautiful ornamental banana available Several years ago, when I was still very new to this forum, I 'discovered' in Vietnam what I thought was quite a find: an ornamental banana which was small enough do raise indoors to maturity. Some of the more experienced and therefore jaded members quickly let me know, that it was a Musa Ornata, while not as ubiquitous as some of the others, it was certainly not unheard of and by no means a 'discovery'. Now I am excited again about another strictly ornamental banana, which is much more beautiful than the Ornata. I found it in Mindo, Ecuador in our landlord's garden. What struck me was that in the same pad there were as many as 7, maybe more, PSs either in bloom or fruit, with the B or F ranging between 2 and 4 feet above ground. I found it significant, that so many of these plants were in B and F at the same time, which leads me to believe, that they either grow to fruit very quickly or maintain their gorgeous B and F for along time. Either would be a great asset. I could confirm neither with our landlord, since his English was just as poor as my Spanish. My request for seeds yielded me a lecture, that bananas do not grow from seeds, but spread out of rhizomes. However upon my insistance, he broke off one of the bananas and handed it to me. DSC00570 by Golestan2, on Flickr This photo shows the whole pad with the B or F visible on it numbered from 1 to 7. #5 is about 2 feet off the ground, while #2’s height is all of 4 feet. The Spanish name, supplied by our landlord, is 'Platanillo Panoramio'. When I googled that, among other things a map of Ecuador popped up, with a balloon right there, where I found the specimen. Curiously enough, when I visited parks and botanic gardens in Ecuador thereafter, I could not find any other Platanillos Panoramio in any of them. After some more tries Mr. Google divulged a Latin name for it (there appear to be at least two from different "discoveries"): Musa Velutina. There are a lot of seeds in each fruit, but just to be sure, I planned on trying to con the landlord out of another fruit, just to be sure. But, before I could do that, my wife spotted another plant at the roadside. Same beautiful red flower and fruit. though the plant was a tad more scraggely, which is to be expected on the side of the road vs a well maintained garden. DSC00574 by Golestan2, on Flickr Even when the bloom is gone the fruit still looks very attractive. I do not know for how long, but from all appearances a long time. When I opened the fruit later, I discovered, that the seeds from the garden raised fruit were tan, while the roadside raised banana yielded black seeds. In apples and pears darker seeds indicate a more advanced state of ripeness. But I am surmising, that in this case we are dealing with different cultivars of the same species. Nevertheless, I am keeping the seeds separate. DSC00701 by Golestan2, on Flickr Sorry about the bad focus, but you get the idea. In order to learn more about these bananas and their hardiness I would like to send a few of them to each of the following regions: - Coastal BC HZ 8 or 9 (humid) - Florida HZ 9, 10 or 11 (almost tropical) - Arizona HZ 9 or 10 (arid) The seeds are quite large, similar in shape to lentils and about 2/3rd in diameter. They may therefore more easy to germinate than most banana seeds (or so I hope). It is legal to import seeds into Canada (up to 9 oz of small seeds and 18 oz of large ones, whatever that means) In the US that is not so, but I doubt, that a few seeds of a none-edible fruit will destroy any US agricultural banana industry. Thus if you are interested in obtaining any of the seeds, please send me a PM with your email and snail mail address. I only would ask you to let me know, how you are making out with your seeds and plants. After all, my interest in all this is to learn more about the species under different conditions Best, Olaf PS: The fruit are between 4 and 5 inches long __________________ The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences, my own and those of others and to learn from them.

02-24-2015, 05:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
JP Location: Trois-Rivières, Québec Find me on the map! Zone: 4 Name: JP Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 1,227 BananaBucks : 153,555 Feedback: 3 / 100% Said "Thanks" 1,969 Times Was Thanked 1,694 Times in 817 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 304 Times	Re: Seeds for small, exceptinally beautiful ornamental banana available Nice pics. I like the pink color, too bad they're not edible...

02-25-2015, 10:42 AM	#3 (permalink)
Olafhenny Olafhenny's Photo Gallery Location: Penticton, BC, Okanagan Valley, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: Hardiness Zone 6 Name: Olaf Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,705 BananaBucks : 271,979 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,050 Times Was Thanked 2,012 Times in 876 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 77 Times	Correction! After reviewing 'Platanillo Panoramio', now that I am back and have better computer access, I have come to the conclusion, that it cannot be identical to the 'Musa Velutina', maybe related, but not identical The M.V. is shorter, edible and as the fruit ripens the peel peels back. If you wanted to eat the P.P., you would need the stomach of a goat. Inside the fruit there are only seeds and pulp, no fruit at all and I have seen no evidence of self peeling in the few P.Ps., which I have observed, it appears, that the 'Platanillo Panoramio' is more rare, than I believed. Add to that the possibility, that there are two different cultivars, it makes it a very interesting specimen. __________________ The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences, my own and those of others and to learn from them. Last edited by Olafhenny : 02-25-2015 at 04:29 PM.

02-25-2015, 09:54 PM	#4 (permalink)
RobG7aChattTN Junior Member RobG7aChattTN's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 422 BananaBucks : 22,308 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 29 Times Was Thanked 438 Times in 234 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times	Regular Musa velutina is very cold hardy... I'm afraid my Musa velutina died off from being crowded out by other plants but a few people grow it in my area which is zone 7b. It requires mulch in the winter and dies to the ground but it comes up quickly from the rhizome. Mine always flowered later (maybe due to crowding) but others find it will usually ripen in one season even up here. The fruit is technically edible and tasty but as you mentioned mostly seed. If only it was seedless! The peels open almost like the petals on a flower with the fruit in the middle presented to the wildlife to eat.

02-25-2015, 11:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
Olafhenny Olafhenny's Photo Gallery Location: Penticton, BC, Okanagan Valley, Canada Find me on the map! Zone: Hardiness Zone 6 Name: Olaf Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,705 BananaBucks : 271,979 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 2,050 Times Was Thanked 2,012 Times in 876 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 77 Times	Re: Seeds for small, exceptinally beautiful ornamental banana available Hi Rob, I am now almost certain, that the Platanillo Panoramio is not a M. Velutina. The fruit is more elongated and of a deeper red and the pulp between the seeds is clearly not edible. It is as fibrous as paper toweling, just a bit more firm, when moist. The P.P. is clearly just for show, but that it does well. It is certainly the prettiest banana I have ever seen, - by a long shot. What astonished me, was that there were that many in bloom and/or fruit at the same time in that pad. However I do think that the P.P. is closely related to the Velutina and I hope that it also goes to bloom as fast as the Velutina does. That would be a great asset for cooler regions. Best, Olaf __________________ The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences, my own and those of others and to learn from them.

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