Musa lawitiensis

Musa lawitiensis
R. E. Nasution and Supardiyono, Bul. Kebun Raya Indonesia, 8 (4): 128 - 130 (1998).

Accepted name Musa lawitiensis R. E. Nasution and Supardiyono, Bul. Kebun Raya Indonesia, 8 (4): 128 - 130 (1998).
Synonyms possibly Musa suratii G. C. G. Argent, Gardens' Bulletin Singapore, 52 (1) : 203 (2000).
Authorities R. E. Nasution and Supardiyono 1998.
Section Callimusa (see Comments)
Distribution Indonesia (East and West Kalimantan)
Description "Pseudostems slender, suckering, up to 1.5 - 2.5 m. high, rarely more than 4 m. tall, up to 10 cm. in diameter, waxless, with variable pink shade.  Leaf blade 2.5 - 3.0 m. long, 35 - 40 cm. wide, waxy underneath, omamented with pale pink colour, unequal at base and [ ] attenuated toward the apex ; petioles slender, pink in colour, up to 25 - 30 cm. long, with scarious margins at base, deeply grooved above with [slightly erect] margins ; midrib pink.  Inflorescence at first horizontal then pendulous, up to 1.0 - 1.5 m. long, rachis minutely pubescent.  Female flowers at base of 5 - 7 hands, in two rows of 6 - 8 per bract.  Distal hands [with] male flowers. Male bud [fusiform], distinctly slender, bracts strongly imbricate and the outermost less then half of the whole [length] of [the] bud.  Male bract deciduous, pale bright pink with [slightly darker] colour at apex and marginal parts, lanceolate-oblong, obtuse, about 9 - 10 [cm.] by 4 - 5 cm., not strongly rolled back.  Male flowers about 8 - 10 per bract in two rows ; compound tepal 3.5 - 4.0 cm long, pale yellowish, [ ] minutely 5-toothed at apex ; the outer lobes equipped with dorsal filiform[ ] appendages [ ] 2 mm. long ; free tepal as long as compound tepal, 0.8 - 1.2 cm. wide, elliptic or linear elliptic.  Stamens 5, nearly as long as the free tepal.  Fruits cylindric, long slender, 9 - 10 cm. long, 1.8 - 2.0 cm. in diameter, pedicel 1.8 - 2.0 cm. long with [acuminate tip] of 0.4 - 0.6 cm.   Skin slightly thin, pulp yellowish when ripe.  Seeds numerous, obovoid with distinct small umbo at top, black when ripe, relatively small, about 4.0 - 5.0 mm diameter".

(Nasution and Supardiyono 1998 but very slightly edited for clarity by drc where indicated [ ]).

References Nasution & Supardiyono 1998, Wong et al 2002.
Comments The plant is named after Mount Lawit in the Bentaung-Karimun National Park.

Other than a comment that the species resembles M. muluensis he authors do not comment on the sectional status of this plant.  It is, however, an Australimusa although this section has been absorbed into the Callimusa by Wong et al 2002.  According to Nasution and Supardiyono M. lawitiensis differs from M. muluensis in i) having distinctly long and proportionately slender fruits and ii) having the free tepal the same length as the compound tepal.

M. suratii is very similar to M. lawitiensis.  If they are sufficiently similar to be considered synonymous then M. lawitiensis has priority.

Images:

There is one image of Musa lawitiensis.


 


last revision 15 January 2004