| |
Musa mannii
Musa mannii H. Wendland ex J. G. Baker in J. D. Hooker, The Flora of British
India 6: 293 (1892) and H. Wendland ex J. G. Baker in Annals of Botany 7: 222 (1893).
Accepted name |
Musa
mannii H. Wendland ex J. G. Baker in J. D. Hooker, The Flora of British India
6: 293 (1892) and H. Wendland ex J. G. Baker in Annals of Botany 7: 222 (1893). |
Synonyms |
|
Authorities |
Baker
1893. |
Section |
Rhodochlamys |
Distribution |
Assam, N. E. India. |
Description |
"Stem slender, cylindrical, 2 ft. long, 1 in. diam., tinged with black.
Leaves few, spreading ; petiole 6 - 10 in. long ; blade oblong, green, unequally
rounded at the base, 2 - 2½ ft. long, 9 - 10 in. broad. Peduncle with spike erect,
½ ft. long ; female flowers in three clusters of three flowers each, their bracts
deciduous ; male bracts crowded, oblong, pale crimson, 3 - 4 in. long. Calyx pale
yellow, 1½ in. long ; petal much shorter, truncate". (Baker
1893).
"Stoloniferous: sts. slender, cylindrical, tinged with black, 2 - 3 ft.
high, 3½ in. circum. at base : spike erect, 6 in. long; female fls. in 3 clusters of 3
fls. each, their bracts deciduous; male bracts crowded, pale crimson, 3 - 4 in. long;
calyx pale yellow, 1½ in. long : free petal much shorter : fr. small, 3 - 4 in. long,
fusiform with a broad truncate apex. Assam. B.M. 7311. - Intro. into Eu. in 1893, and into
U. S. in 1901".
(Ricker
1937).
"Pseudostems of this small species are about 70 cm. high, 2.5 - 9 cm. in
diameter, and tinged with black. Green leaves with linear oblong blades to 60 cm.
long, 18 cm. wide, have petioles 20 cm. long. The lax, smooth inflorescence, about
15 cm. long in the flowering portion, is somewhat inclined but neither horizontal or
recurved. Bracts are rose-colored, subtending yellow male flowers 5 cm. long.
The female flowers are 3 in a single row in each of 3 clusters. Mature fruit is
greenish, about 5 cm. long, filled with thin pulp and many black seeds about 6 mm. long."
(Moore
1957).
Plant
height 60 cm. to 1.5 m. Pseudostem about 70 cm. tall, slender, stoloniferous, tinged
or blotched black. Leaves oblong 75 - 80 cm. long, 18 - 20 cm. wide, green, midrib
red. Inflorescence erect to 14cm, bracts crimson to purplish-red, slightly groved,
not curled back as is usual in Musa. Flowers yellow, females flowers in
clusters of 3. Fruit green, angled, small.
(RHS
1956 and Huxley 1992). |
References |
Argent 1984, Cheesman 1947b:
110, Griffiths 1994, Hore et al 1992, Huxley
1992, Mobot Tropicos, Moore 1957
: 183, NBGB, Rao 1994, RHS 1956, Ricker 1937 : 2079, Simmonds 1960. |
Comments |
The
name is cited as Musa mannii Hooker in Argent 1984 and Musa manii, in
Rao 1994. The
plant was described by Baker 1893 "from a specimen that
flowered in the palm-house at Kew, March 1893".
Moore 1957 comments that "although plants are currently offered under
this name, their identity is not certain. The species itself has never been properly
described by contemporary standards and its relatives in far north-eastern India are
poorly understood. According to Simmonds (in correspondence), hybrids between
species of this alliance [Rhodochlamys] produce individuals that could easily but mistakenly be considered
distinct species. Thus Musa Mannii must remain, at least for the time
being, an enigmatic species". Writing in 1984 Argent commented that this
is an "imperfectly understood small species up to 1.3 m. high
with purplish-red bracts that do not curl back".
The
species was introduced to UK horticulture about 1892 and has recently become available
again. But is the plant available today really Musa mannii?
I
have not yet seen Musa mannii flower but I am growing plants from three different
sources and have seen the plant at RHS Wisley. Plants from all sources look
similar but none convincingly match the description given by Baker and from which later
authors have drawn. Cheesman (KB 4 (3) : 266 (1949)) has commented that Baker seems
sometimes to conflate descriptions but since Baker described M. mannii from a
plant that flowered at Kew one must take his description at face value. Moore too
also seems to have known the plant. Neither Baker nor Moore mention reddish,
ruffled, somewhat scarious wings at the "shoulder"
or base the petiole but these are characteristic of all cultivated plants that I have
seen. It seems unlikely that such an obvious vegetative character should have been
missed both by Baker and Moore. Further, such wings are, according to Cheesman
(1948) and to Argent (pers. comm.), characteristic of section Callimusa plants
whereas Musa mannii is supposedly in section Rhodochlamys.
Harold Moore's comment in 1957 about Musa mannii seems
valid today, "although plants are currently offered under this name, their identity is
not certain".
Images.
There
are four images of Musa mannii. |
| |
|