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Christian Rieger · 01-31-2007, 11:53 AM

OK, you two. I will answer my own questions.

The fertilizer you have in the yard is dog. They will raise their legs to trees and stumps of all sizes. When I was a kid, I noticed that a few of the plants they did this to became variegated. There is something in dog urine that can change a plant. Not many, but a few.

One photo shows an exceptional number of albinos growing in a pot. This rarity occurred not only because an albino feeds on rotting material. Not rotted, rotting. Throw five or six pounds of rotting hamburger on top of the root system of a variegated, cover it with dirt and the plant grows with exceptional speed and has a higher probability of producing albino offspring.

It is highly likely that a plant like this helped human survival when the mega-volcano blew its lid 70,000 thousands years ago.

Below is an explanation I give to people when asked about the uniqueness and potential importance of the Hawaiian Ae-AE.

Some of this will be repetition to you, but read on.

CR

A Possible Technique for Creating Food Crops to Grow in Short-season and Low-light Conditions by
Studying the Gene Characteristics of the Hawaiian Ae-ae Banana.

The Hawaiian Ae-ae Banana has characteristics locked into its genes which if they could be transferred to other plants, could revolutionize agriculture.

The Hawaiian Ae-ae Banana is not a typical banana plant. Its characteristics set it apart from perhaps all other plants.

Firstly, its leaves are variegated. But that is not important; there are other bananas and other species in the plant kingdom that have that characteristic. Secondly, it also has plants with leaves that are solid green, and thirdly, it has plants that are albino, virtually no chlorophyll. This occurs all in the same colony.

Because of its uniqueness, the variegated is prized as a collector’s item and that plant alone brings the seller anywhere from $125 to $425. That is also not important to this presentation.

Because of its monetary value, scientists have tried to clone the variegated version. They have failed. Most of the time they get green plants and only occasionally get a variegated one. As far as I know, they have not tried to clone a white one. Maybe that is where they have gone wrong.

(Attached are photos of the Hawaiian Ae-ae Variegated Banana in its different forms. Brief explanations of each photo appear below.)

Holy Plant of the Hawaiians
This odd plant was a holy plant to the Hawaiians and only the king could eat its fruit. A severe penalty was reserved for transgressors. Apparently, it had been a holy plant from time immemorial, or shortly before.

At this point I would like to interject one of my rules of thumb: Responsible religions do not do stupid things. Therefore, I like to think this holy plant had to be around for some reason.

Many high priests in the ancient religions had psychic powers. And like the Amerindian Medicine Men, they could see the future. I believe the Pacific-island priests did likewise, and saw some value to it beyond its unique coloration.

Though they have nothing to gain from it, the best of humanity will do things for the future. Such is the tradition of priests of every ilk. I think the Hawaiian’s guardianship of this plant is an example. The plant comes to us from ages past, and we can always learn from the past.

Growth Characteristics
In their natural state, bananas grow in “colonies.” When the Hawaiian Ae-ae plant grows in a colony the most common plants are the green ones which are taller than the other two.

The variegated ones need some shade to protect the white part of the leaves from burning in the sun. They find this is the shade of the tall green ones. The albino appears less frequently than the other two, and needs a great deal of shade to keep its leaves from burning. This it finds under the leaves of the other two types.

From what I understand, commercial growers usually cut down white because they believe it can not survive without chlorophyll. They think the white plant is a mutation resulting from genes gone amuck. Perhaps it is not a mutation, but a message.

From what I can find out, science treats the three plants almost as if they are three different varieties. If one views the banana in terms of commercial production, then this makes sense.

However, there is an alternative: all three are expressions of one plant. My guess is the white one feeds mostly from the chlorophyll production of the other two. Though there may be other ways to feed it.

Why is this important?
The two potentially useful attributes the white banana has is it grows without chlorophyll, and it grows in partial and/or low light. The usefulness of plants that grow in low light can be seen in the following historical scenario. (A documentary video accompanies this letter in the package.)

72,000 thousand years ago a mega-volcano blew up in Indonesia. Its dust cloud spread around the planet and blocked out the sun. Temperatures plummeted by up to 21 degrees at higher latitudes, according to Michael Rampino, a biologist and geologist at New YorkUniversity. Rampino has estimated three-quarters of the plant species in the Northern Hemisphere perished.

The human population before the explosion is said to have been three to five billion. 2,000 to 12,0000 survived. The human race came within a hair’s breadth of extinction. We were lucky.

The resulting caldera is 100 miles long and 30 miles wide. (One of these volcanoes, not quite as big, is in Yosemite Park in the western United States.) Imagine the noise and the earth quakes when it blew up. It would have put Krakatoa to shame. And the latter’s explosion was heard 3000 miles away and the tidal waves got up to 120 feet.

Where did the people survive after that explosion 72,000 years ago? How did they survive? Did they survive in pockets around the planet, or in a cluster in one place? What fluke left them alive? At what place, or places, were there sun, water and food enough for survival?

When this happens again, and scientists say we are overdue, it will be necessary to have food-providing plants able to grow in as many places as possible — particularly in low light created by the dust cloud.

The white banana might be able to grow in such conditions without accompanying green ones. More importantly, plants that have acquired some of the gene characteristics of the Albino Ae-ae could also grow in low-light conditions.

If all food plants had varieties with ability to grow in dim light, then more of the human race has a chance of surviving the next mega-blast — or mega something.

The gene that gives the white banana the ability to grow without chlorophyll could contain the answer to making other plants be more flexible in their ability to grow in low light conditions. It could be this that can give humanity genetically engineered plants to feed the many people that need food in our generation and the few people alive after a natural catastrophe in the future.

D. O. C. R.

01-31-2007, 11:53 AM	#20 (permalink)
Christian Rieger Junior Member Location: Fort Lauderdale Find me on the map! Zone: 10.5 Name: Christian Rieger Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 37 BananaBucks : 20,138 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 25 Times in 12 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: Ae Ae Albino OK, you two. I will answer my own questions. The fertilizer you have in the yard is dog. They will raise their legs to trees and stumps of all sizes. When I was a kid, I noticed that a few of the plants they did this to became variegated. There is something in dog urine that can change a plant. Not many, but a few. One photo shows an exceptional number of albinos growing in a pot. This rarity occurred not only because an albino feeds on rotting material. Not rotted, rotting. Throw five or six pounds of rotting hamburger on top of the root system of a variegated, cover it with dirt and the plant grows with exceptional speed and has a higher probability of producing albino offspring. It is highly likely that a plant like this helped human survival when the mega-volcano blew its lid 70,000 thousands years ago. Below is an explanation I give to people when asked about the uniqueness and potential importance of the Hawaiian Ae-AE. Some of this will be repetition to you, but read on. CR A Possible Technique for Creating Food Crops to Grow in Short-season and Low-light Conditions by Studying the Gene Characteristics of the Hawaiian Ae-ae Banana. *The Hawaiian Ae-ae Banana has characteristics locked into its genes which if they could be transferred to other plants, could revolutionize agriculture.* The Hawaiian Ae-ae Banana is not a typical banana plant. Its characteristics set it apart from perhaps all other plants. Firstly, its leaves are variegated. But that is not important; there are other bananas and other species in the plant kingdom that have that characteristic. Secondly, it also has plants with leaves that are solid green, and thirdly, it has plants that are albino, virtually no chlorophyll. This occurs all in the same colony. Because of its uniqueness, the variegated is prized as a collector’s item and that plant alone brings the seller anywhere from $125 to $425. That is also not important to this presentation. Because of its monetary value, scientists have tried to clone the variegated version. They have failed. Most of the time they get green plants and only occasionally get a variegated one. As far as I know, they have not tried to clone a white one. Maybe that is where they have gone wrong. (Attached are photos of the Hawaiian Ae-ae Variegated Banana in its different forms. Brief explanations of each photo appear below.) Holy Plant of the Hawaiians This odd plant was a holy plant to the Hawaiians and only the king could eat its fruit. A severe penalty was reserved for transgressors. Apparently, it had been a holy plant from time immemorial, or shortly before. At this point I would like to interject one of my rules of thumb: Responsible religions do not do stupid things. Therefore, I like to think this holy plant had to be around for some reason. Many high priests in the ancient religions had psychic powers. And like the Amerindian Medicine Men, they could see the future. I believe the Pacific-island priests did likewise, and saw some value to it beyond its unique coloration. Though they have nothing to gain from it, the best of humanity will do things for the future. Such is the tradition of priests of every ilk. I think the Hawaiian’s guardianship of this plant is an example. The plant comes to us from ages past, and we can always learn from the past. Growth Characteristics In their natural state, bananas grow in “colonies.” When the Hawaiian Ae-ae plant grows in a colony the most common plants are the green ones which are taller than the other two. The variegated ones need some shade to protect the white part of the leaves from burning in the sun. They find this is the shade of the tall green ones. The albino appears less frequently than the other two, and needs a great deal of shade to keep its leaves from burning. This it finds under the leaves of the other two types. From what I understand, commercial growers usually cut down white because they believe it can not survive without chlorophyll. They think the white plant is a mutation resulting from genes gone amuck. Perhaps it is not a mutation, but a message. From what I can find out, science treats the three plants almost as if they are three different varieties. If one views the banana in terms of commercial production, then this makes sense. However, there is an alternative: all three are expressions of one plant. My guess is the white one feeds mostly from the chlorophyll production of the other two. Though there may be other ways to feed it. Why is this important? The two potentially useful attributes the white banana has is it grows without chlorophyll, and it grows in partial and/or low light. The usefulness of plants that grow in low light can be seen in the following historical scenario. (A documentary video accompanies this letter in the package.) 72,000 thousand years ago a mega-volcano blew up in Indonesia. Its dust cloud spread around the planet and blocked out the sun. Temperatures plummeted by up to 21 degrees at higher latitudes, according to Michael Rampino, a biologist and geologist at New YorkUniversity. Rampino has estimated three-quarters of the plant species in the Northern Hemisphere perished. The human population before the explosion is said to have been three to five billion. 2,000 to 12,0000 survived. The human race came within a hair’s breadth of extinction. We were lucky. The resulting caldera is 100 miles long and 30 miles wide. (One of these volcanoes, not quite as big, is in Yosemite Park in the western United States.) Imagine the noise and the earth quakes when it blew up. It would have put Krakatoa to shame. And the latter’s explosion was heard 3000 miles away and the tidal waves got up to 120 feet. Where did the people survive after that explosion 72,000 years ago? How did they survive? Did they survive in pockets around the planet, or in a cluster in one place? What fluke left them alive? At what place, or places, were there sun, water and food enough for survival? When this happens again, and scientists say we are overdue, it will be necessary to have food-providing plants able to grow in as many places as possible — particularly in low light created by the dust cloud. The white banana might be able to grow in such conditions without accompanying green ones. More importantly, plants that have acquired some of the gene characteristics of the Albino Ae-ae could also grow in low-light conditions. If all food plants had varieties with ability to grow in dim light, then more of the human race has a chance of surviving the next mega-blast — or mega something. The gene that gives the white banana the ability to grow without chlorophyll could contain the answer to making other plants be more flexible in their ability to grow in low light conditions. It could be this that can give humanity genetically engineered plants to feed the many people that need food in our generation and the few people alive after a natural catastrophe in the future. D. O. C. R. Last edited by Christian Rieger : 01-31-2007 at 11:59 AM. Reason: readability