So I went to the nursery today and obviously
had to bring one of these guys home with me. Seeing them in person of course changes my perspective a bit.
After examining them for a few minutes, the first real consideration that came to mind was that they look very familiar. When I had the sikkimensis in Portland, which I looked at every day, I really had no knowledge of or familiarity with banana plants. When I did on occasion see a basjoo growing somewhere (I did know what a basjoo was because my father in law had one) I remember thinking how different they looked in comparison.
I haven't seen a sikkimensis in over a decade (Helen's Hybrid notwithstanding) so want to stress I can't really say I have an accurate memory of what it looks like in person. What I remember about the differences between basjoo and sikkimesis, not counting the variegation. are the leaf shape, sikimesis being broader and blunter, and color, sikkimensis being a darker green. When I look at these plants, they don't strike me as looking different from basjoo, (again, not counting the variegation).
The leaf shape, for the most part, and base color seem generally more consistent with basjoo. The wings on the petioles also seem more substantial than I have seen with other plants (I have noticed small wings on other species), although maybe not as significant as my bigger basjoos. Again, the size of the plants leaves this an open question. And overall, the plants just look to me more like basjoo.
I fully realize it can be exceedingly difficult to ID a banana before it flowers, let alone when its small. Of course many factors may come in to play and affect plant appearance, i.e. cultivation conditions, fertilization, whether from seed or vegetative propagation, etc. which may throw a wrench into any ID attempt.
So, I am going to go out on a limb here, and I very well may be dead wrong as, I want to stress, I am not by a long stretch an expert, but I think this MIGHT be either a basjoo mutation, or a basjoo hybrid. I am going to try and track down the original grower (may be a dead end) and see if I can get any more information.
I am also going to plant this guy in the ground and see if I can over winter it, which would at least tell me it is likely one of the two above mentioned plants, or at least a genetic relative/hybrid.
When/if I get any more information I will provide an update.