Musa
bicolor Hort. is an invalid name seemingly used imprecisely in horticulture.
I have heard that the name was applied to a supposed hybrid between M. ornata and
M. velutina but it seems mainly to have been applied to variegated bananas.
I have seen the name applied to a "variegated banana" in B & T's list
and the name has apparently also been applied to the variegated Hawaiian cultivar Aea'e (=
Koa'e). There are a number of variegated Musa:
Musa basjoo 'Variegata'
Musa (AAA group) ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ several un-named clones
Musa (AAB group) ‘Aea’e’ = Musa (AAB group)
‘Koa’e’
Musa (AAB group) ‘Koa’e’
Musa (AAB group) ‘Vittata’
Musa (AAB group) ‘Banane panachee’
Musa (AAB group) ‘Anil Vazhai’ or ‘Variegated French Plantain’
Variegated
bananas are unstable sectoral chimeras. This instability
prevents them being micropropagated very easily so they tend to be propagated
conventionally and therefore rather slowly. Coupled with their desirability as
ornamentals, they are thus not readily obtained compared to non-variegated types.
Variegated plants arise occasionally as 'sports' during micropropagation but such plants
usually 'grow out' of the variegation. |