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Cheesman
created Ensete perrieri as a new combination (number 18 out of 25) in a brief
note in his 1947 paper reviving the genus Ensete. The Madagascan flora has
African elements but is quite distinct with a large number of endemic species. Like
the African flora there are no wild Musa native to Madagascar, but there does
appear to be one unique Ensete species. Cheesman acknowledged that field
study might reveal synonymy in his list of 25 Ensete but since it was typified by
Claverie in 1905 Ensete perrieri has remained essentially unstudied so it cannot
yet be reassessed. Simmonds (1962) comments that "E.
perrieri [ ] probably belongs under E. ventricosum"
although from the photograph of the plant [link below] supplied by Dr Thierry Devoin of
the Laboratoire de Phanérogamie, Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, it seems to
us the vegetative plant rather resembles E. glaucum. But Simmonds' (1960)
note still accurately summarises the present situation, "status and relationship
unknown". In
his description of the type Claverie comments, "Notre Musa,
par son tronc renflé a la base, l'absence de réjéts, la forme des diverses pieces du
perianthe, appartient a la section des Physocaulis; et il se place, par le nombre des
fleurs de chaque série et l'aspect de ses inflorescences, au voisinage du Musa ensete
de l'Afrique orientale. Mais il s'en distingué nettement par le nombre des
etamines et la hauteur de sa tige. Il differe des Musa ventricosa et schweinfurthii
par la forme de son tepale; et des Musa buchanani, superba, nepalensis
par le nombre plus considerable de ses fleurs et la position pendante de ses
inflorescences. Enfin il s'eloigne nettement du Musa proboscidea par le
nombre plus faible de ses fleurs, par sa tige renflée a la base, par la forme de ses
bractées floriferes fortement allongées et par ses inflorescences beaucoup plus
ramassées. L'aspect general de cette espéce de Madagascar est d'ailleurs bien
different de celui qu'indique Oliver dans les [Hooker's] Icones
[Plantarum], pour le Musa proboscidea. Nous croyons
donc pouvoir, sans hesiter, considerer comme une espéce nouvelle ce Musa de l'Ambongo,
que nous nommons Musa perrieri".
It
will be very interesting to know whether its affinities lie with the African or Asian
species of Ensete, according to Claverie it seems to differ from both in floral
characteristics. And if the seeds are really warty (see description at Musa
perrieri) then it differs from all known Ensete.
Champion
1967 seems to bring into synonymy here Musa pierrei Hubert citing Fawcett; "M. perrieri Claverie [ ] dans Fawcett = M. pierrei
Hubert = Ensete perrieri (Clav.) Cheesman". We do not know how
he gets this idea since Fawcett describes M. perrieri under the subgenus Physocaulis
on p. 274 and M. pierrei under the subgenus Eumusa on p. 268.
Although the description of M. pierrei is poor the fact that it has an erect
inflorescence would seem to be more than enough to separate it.
GRIN accepts Musa perrieri P. Claverie as the accepted
name.
Type:
Perrier de la Bathie no. 1796 in Herb. Mus. Paris (also Herb. Mus. Col. Marseille ?)
See also Decary 2337, 6883 and Perrier 16897 in Herb. Mus. Paris.
Images:
There
is one image of Ensete perrieri. |