Musa campestris var lawasensis - Stark white fruits contrasting with the purple bud.
Talking about the 1st day of Chinese New Year being an auspicious day! I got a call from an old school mate who has just gotten back from one of his many trips to Sarawak and told me to get over to his house to collect some 'bananas'. I thought he got a couple of fruits for me but I was really surprised to see 3 small pups of a
Callimusa. Looking at the 3 thin ' blackish sticks' I didn't know what they were then. We then proceeded to look at the pix on his computer. I still can't figure what it is, but it sure look cool with a dark purple bud and white colored fruits.
I soaked them over night to rehydrate them and had them planted the next day. I was a bit busy running around doing stuff and did not have the time to write a note to Markku Hakkinen on its ID. When I finally did, I was so amazed that Markku replied within 10 mins of me sending the mail. He ID'd it as the
Musa campestris var lawasensis one of the 6 known varieties of this species found in Borneo.
My friend spotted this particular population of
Musa campestris var lawasensis in the interiors of Sarawak between Brunei and Kalimantan. As in the case of 'naner from the wild here, they were
ALL over the jungle's clearings. The plant has a short p-stem height of only about 3ft making it the
shortest of the 6 varieties. As he was there for some meetings with the Orang Asli, he didn't have the time to collect it. He told me that when he asked the Orang Asli to collect it for him, the locals thought he was nuts wanting to take a 'weed' away. Anyway, I am very grateful to have received this 'weed'.
The plant looks big in the photo but it is only 3ft in p-stem height. It makes an ideal potted ornamental.
This is the typical habitat of this species. An open area of the forest where it is a 'weed'!
All photos by my friend Colin Nicholas.