Musa acuminata subsp. siamea

Musa acuminata L. A. Colla subsp. siamea N. W. Simmonds, Kew Bulletin 11 (3): 463 - 489 (1956).

Accepted name Musa acuminata L. A. Colla subsp. siamea N. W. Simmonds, Kew Bulletin 11 (3): 463 - 489 (1956).

or

Musa siamea if the results of Wong et al 2002 are confirmed.
Synonyms

Musa acuminata L. A. Colla, the Annam form of E. E. Cheesman, Kew Bull. 1948, 27.
Musa acumianta L. A. Colla, the Kedah form of N. W. Simmonds, Malayan Nat. J. 10, 3 (1955)

Authorities

This subspecies is likely to be elevated to Musa siamea if the results of Wong et al 2002 are confirmed. The synonyms are from Simmonds 1956.

The World Checklist of Monocotyledons gives Musa acuminata L. A. Colla subsp. siamea N. W. Simmonds, Kew Bull. 11: 466 (1956 publ. 1957) as an accepted name.

Section Eumusa (Musa) 1
Distribution

Northern Malaysia, Thailand.  See map at Musa acuminata.

Description "This subspecies is, in general aspect, nearest to [Musa acuminata] subsp. malaccensis. It differs in that the plants are commonly (but not always) of shorter stature; there is less black and brown smudging on the pseudostems; the peduncle is often (but not always) glabrous; the fruits are commonly smaller and, above all, the male buds are imbricate and have bracts paler, more purple in tone, often slightly yellow-steaked (at least in Malaya), and with pale yellowish tips. There is also a marked difference in distribution and ecology, malaccensis being the form of Equatorial Malaya, siamea the form of the Monsoon lands of northern Malaya, Thailand and Indochina. Probably none of the characters given above would suffice to identify any particular plant with certainty; even the very characteristic imbrication of the male bud is lost with age, and pigmentation and waxiness are somewhat dependent on nutrition, age, exposure and so forth. But when the whole population is considered, the differences are striking".

from Simmonds 1956.
References

Hotta 1989, Jarret 1987, Novak 1992, Pollefys et al 2004, Simmonds 1956 : 468, WCM, Wong et al 2002.

Comments

This subspecies is likely to be elevated to Musa siamea if the results of Wong et al 2002 are confirmed.

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last updated 21/04/2008