Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

Thanks, I'd appreciate it!

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

Howard, the 'Mekong Giant' from Brian is actually Musa itinerans (probably var. itinerans), not M. yunnanensis. Not sure why he doesn't just call it what it really is, and avoid the unnecessary confusion.

Frank

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

Thanks Frank, I agree. It would save a lot of head scratching (and I don't have that much hair anymore).

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

My Yunn has wax on it, my Mekong Giants don't. The Mekongs have reddish brown markings on the pesudostem that run up into the petiole. The underside of the leaves have quiet a bit of the same reddish brown coloring. Also there are about 14 prominent lateral veins off the midveins. They also seem to be growing pretty quick now. I did talk to Brian some months ago about the identity of it.
Eric

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

Here are those pictures:

Top of leaf with prominent veins. I counted 14 on each side on this small leaf.



Bottom of leaf with a lot of color:



Pseudostem. It is hard to see that some of the reddish brown color is starting to appear. No wax:



Eric

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

? so did the question of ?is the mekong giant a
yunnanensis.. itinerans..?
ive been thinking of ordering couple from brian..
how have u done with yours eric? how big have yours gotten
this summer?
thanks..

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

It's funny you ask nanner cause I just took new pics of it and was planning on posting them in a few days. I think you would be very happy with it. MIne is growing fast, from a 4" pot to over 4 feet and we had really cold weather here until late June. It grows really fast and looks great. Liek Brian says it does seem to gorw faster than basjoo. We had a hot JUly which didn't slow it down at all.

It is an itinerans, although none of mine have pupped yet. I used Dr Hakkien's article to try to establish what var and it appears to be very similar to Musa itinerans var xishuangbannaensis, if you can believe that! I just don't know if it has watery red sap cause I haven't had the heart to cut it! Anyway it even has very tiny bits of wax showing up on the petioles, that are very easy to miss. So I could be wrong but running through the checklist it sure matches his description of it.

Eric

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

thanks eric!! im always a sucker to try something new..
:)
so do cut it down in fall/winter and store then...just storing
the bulb?
ive always been pleased with brians plants..
we are getting a HOT streak this week..high 90sF whew..
nites are still real comfortable..

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

I know what you mean nanner! It's a huge problem isn't it? Well I suppose this one you could treat just like any other banana adn cut it if you want. I don't know what the size of the corm is on it yet, but it has gorwn very rapidly. And Brian says the corm does get massive. I plan on leaving them outside for the winter and mulching the same as I do for my basjoo, and if they make it great! I have enough to bring in and carrying pots in and out every year just doesn't do it for me anymore.

Yes I'm always happy with his stuff. Never disappointed. I'll work on getting nee pics up this week for you. I woul dat least, if nothing else, pick up one or two adn grow them in pots over winter if you can. They might be too small to store at this point just as corms.

Enjoy that heat for me! It has been kinda cool here in the 70s for the most part. But big storms loom, just in time to shread my plants.

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

Nanner here are some pics. Took awhile sorry. It is about 5 feet tall now.
It has grown fast, and the purple black color is showing up now. Also there are tiny smudges of wax on the petioles in some places. I used Dr Hakkien's Itinerans article and the features all (so far) match Musa Itinerans var
xishuangbannaensis.


Purple black smudges on petioles starting to show up:


Midrib on underside of leaf still has color:




Pseudostem has a yellow color (not obvious in this picture):


Eric

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

I just ordered one from Brian.. hope it's correct. Thanks for all the info!!!

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

Sorry forgot to update this. TURNS OUT Mekong Giant is actually Itinerans var. itinerans. What a ripoff. The sap is white. Xishuangbannaensis has red sap. Here's the link explaining the differences between the 6 they recorded. http://english.xtbg.cas.cn/rh/ss/hm/...1632122228.pdf

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

which is youre tallest plant so far this season?

Re: Musa yunnanensis officially described!
 

So far the basjoos since they're 3 years old and in the ground.. everything else is potted and fairly young/small. The Mekong Giant is getting some nice size to it now though, but not even close to the basjoos. Then again, it's only year 1 for the Mekong Giant!

I think instead of pots next year I will just put them all in the ground and dig them up every winter. That way they will grow a lot faster for me