Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

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'. :ha:

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.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Some weed!

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

That's a cool one!

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Nice "weed" they have got there!!!
:woohoonaner:

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Nice "weed" they have got there!!!
:woohoonaner:

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Thanks Tog Tan!!

I did not see this thread until after PM. The information you provide to us is very much appreciated!:)

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Wow, keep us posted. I'd say try to get me some 'weed', but might get ARRESTED.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Fantastic, Tog! Wow, you really are in banana heaven, aren't you?! Sheesh! :nanadrink:
More, more, more, more!!!

So, did you just get plants? I can't get over the white fruits! Very colorful bud too. One of the other varieties has pink and white variegated fruits! Definitely one of the more ornamental species in the area, IMHO. Shoot, the entire country of Borneo has some amazing, rare species. Neat stuff. Thanks for posting, Tog. Did I mention to post more? LOL.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Talk about being green with envy, Yikes! Your collection is really getting to be extensive. I hope some of those weed seeds blow this direction. That is a very cool banana. Loving the white fruit.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

If anyone wants more info on this species and its varieties, check out this document: http://www.heliconiasocietypr.org/HS...ter%209(4).pdf

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Great stuff Tog - we really appreciate your input!

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Yo Frank,
Sorry mate, no seeds this time! Only the 3 puppies.

The rain has eased off here finally and time for me to hunt down the Musa gracilis Purple flower form. Know something interesting? Remember I spoke of the Red flower Callimusa? According to Markku Hakkinen, it's the 3rd form of the Musa gracilis. I roughly know the site and I think I can find it without getting lost in the jungle.

He also spoke of the invalid taxon, Musa corneri which was recorded by Holttum in the 1940's. It is supposed to belong to the Musa acuminata complex. Ha! :ha: I have found this plant in a certain area. Physically and visually it is pretty different from the M-a-s-malaccensis. I will do a post on it later when I get pix. :02:

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

We always look forward to your posts, Tog. I wish we could get some advertisors on board so that we could get the magazine going and feature some of your explorations and photos.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Thanks Brent for your kind comments. I wish I was back in the old days running around for reptiles in Indonesia, Borneo and Thailand. Well then I didn't have the 'naner fever yet.

Currently, I am doing a lot of work on the Peninsular M'sia musa species because of my project, Ladang Musaceae which is a banana eco park. When completed in mid 2010, it will showcase as many cultivars and species as I can collect.

I am using my old reptile collecting network to get the species together, bit by bit, place by place. It's not easy but fun in a way. The most boring part is the first 2 months of acquiring a new specimen. It just sits in the pot and we just look at each other. Then...the fun starts once its established. I keep the new plants at home and I work on them with heavy watering and fert feeding. Can you imagine 1ft tall plants starts pupping after 2 months? The weather here is perfect for their growth. Recently I was given 12 pups of the Siam Ruby, in 2 months, with pups, I have more 30 plts!
Even though I have been into plants for a long time, it's the 'naners which opened my eyes in terms of their ability to grow. Absolutely amazing!

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Hi Tog! Thanks for the information! Very interesting and beautiful version. Never saw white bananas.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

tog, what you are doing is AWESOME!!!!!! please post pics if you can. we like progressive pics on here. lol! if you have pics from the start of you project till now would be great.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Looks like them nana's are dusted with powdered sugar. Good job TT.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

I had seeds a few years ago but never had any sprout. Thanks for posting this great write up.

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

why cant we have some of these over here

Re: Musa campestris var lawasensis - My Chinese New Year present
 

Just received a newsletter from rarepalmseeds.com and they have seeds of M. campestris var. campestris and campestris var. lawasensis available at moment.
If you want to try to grow them from seeds, now there's a chance!