New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

This was just published this past week in the Nordic Journal of Botany by our friend Markku Hakkinen (and H. Wang). Musa zaifui is a small species from Yunnan, and is named after Prof. Xu Zaifu, the third director of the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden.

It's a small plant in section Rhdoclamys, only 1.1 meters in pseudostem height. The flower bud color is violet, much like M. chunii, and the inflorescence is held horizontally. The basal flowers are hermaphrodite. The whole plant looks like a smaller version of M. chunii to me, with some subtle differences. It is apparently very rare also, only found in three populations, with five individual plants with suckers. It isn't clear to me whether that means a total of 5 plants, or 5 plants per population.

Wish I could post the article, but after doing a Google search, I can't find it anywhere online for free.

So another new species from Yunnan! Talk about some serious biodiversity in the genus Musa in that province! It looks as if M. rubinea is set to be published and officially described early next year as well.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

This would be a great article for the new magazine if we could get permission to publish a copy of it!

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Thanks for the info Frank. Looks like nut cases like us have another one on our wish list! :ha:

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Thanks for sharing Frank!
Thank goodness for TC, perhaps Zaifui wont be in such small numbers for long.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Markku said that he couldn't release a copy until it was published, so maybe when he returns from SE Asia, we might get a complimentary copy. He may be back already, I forgot the date he was planning to return.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Just get me a corm and I will gladly try it.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Just give some seeds for me, then I will send them to Frutas Raras to germinate them in Brazil.

Best wishes
Basjoofriend

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

There's a small picture (can't enlarge it) on this page:
Conser_Biology

And an abstract of the article on this one:
Wiley InterScience :: Session Cookies

Kind regards,
Remko.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Frank did you notice in the first photo is is named M. zaifuii with two i's? Quite strange that he named it one way in one spot and another throughout the remainder of the article. (God, am I analytical or what?)

The article also mentions that this particular banana is quite drought tolerant. That is exciting for us here in the Mojave....And they flower quickly so shorter growing seasons may also benefit. Makes me wonder about crossing it with another Eumusa to make an edible variety. Now all I need are some seeds or explants!!!!

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

According to the laws of botanical nomenclature, it should only have one "i" at the end, since the name doesn't end in a consonant.

Hopefully it will become available in the next few years.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Thanks Frank, but did you notice that on the photo?

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Scot, I just looked at the article again, and I can find no instance of it being named "zaifuii" with two "i"s. The first picture is the holotype, and it is spelled correctly. Are you sure you are reading it correctly?

Frank

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Yes, read the caption inside the photo showing the dried remains of the leaf and flower. It is clearly spelled zaifuii.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Aha! I was looking at the captions under the photos. I see it now. It is strange that it would be mis-spelled on the herbarium holotype specimen sheet! Nice catch.

Frank

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

I took the "t" off the photo URL that Griphuz posted above.
T is usually for "thumb" and in this case it worked to produce the larger image. :)

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Wow, I never knew that - what a great tip. Thanks Jarred, I will have to remember that one.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

I have just received three of the very rare Musa zaifui sp.nov. From a plant supplier in Belgium Plantencentrum Exotica
The description on the plantencentrum site says they grow to 2-3m but zaifui should only get to half that size!
So a question mark will remain over the plants I have received for some time?
That said though the plants I have do look like Musa zaifui sp.nov.
Musa zaifui sp. nov. (Musaceae) from Yunnan, China----Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden,CAS





Cheers,
Tony

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

I doubt if it will be the right one Tony, I've bought a Rajapuri here and it turns out to be a normal Cavendish type. Their imagination sometimes seems to take a run with them. I wonder where they claim to have gotten the seed or plantmaterial of the original Musa zaifui, since it is not really in culture as far as I know right?

Kind regards,
Remko.

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

Hi griphuz, yes I agree I think the chances it is zaifui are slim but not impossible!
I guess I will just have to grow it and see, but what ever it turns out to be it looks like a nice Musa and possibly in the Rhdoclamys group.

I haven’t ask Guido at plantencentrum because I don’t speak Belgium Dutch/French
Maybe you could ask him ;-) or ask some one on this forum if they can help!

De tuin van 2010 • Foto album en video




Thanks,
Tony

Re: New Species Just Described: Musa zaifui
 

I'll try to get some information loose if I get to the nurcery again Tony, but I've never seen Guido actually.
Kind regards,
Remko.