Musa dechangensis
Musa dechangensis J. L. Liu & M. G. Liu, Acta Botanica Yunnanica 9 (2) : 163 (1987).
Accepted name Musa basjoo P. F. (B.) von Siebold ex Y. Iinuma, Sintei Somoku dzusetsu [Illustrations and Descriptions of Plants] ed. 2, 3: pl. 1 (1874) et J. G. Baker Curtis's Botanical Magazine t. 7182 (1891). Synonyms 1. Musa japonica Hort. Veitch ex E. A. Carrière & E-F. André, Rev. Hort. [Paris] 61: 491 (1889).
2. [Musa martinii A. Van Geert, Revue de Horticulture Belge et Étrangere 18: 107, fig. 12 (1892).]
3. Musa japonica Hortus Vietchii : 275 (1906).
4. Musa lushanensis J. L. Liu, Acta Botanica Yunnanica 11 (2) : 171 (1989).
5. Musa luteola J. L. Liu, Investigatio et Studium Naturae 10 : 41, f. 1 (1990).Authorities The accepted name is derived from Liu et al 2000 and its form from Turner et al 2002, derived as follows: von Siebold published Musa basjoo nomen nudum. When in the second edition of Iinuma's work (1874) his illustration was annotated “Basho. Musa basjoo S et Z. (Musaceae)” this constituted valid publication. However, Baker (1891) gave the first "proper" illustration and description. Zuccarini had nothing to do with the publication of Musa basjoo although following Iinuma he is frequently credited as co-author with von Siebold. The source of the synonymy is as follows:
1. Cheesman 1948e.
2. This is a spurious synonym - see M. martinii for an explanation.
3. Cheesman 1948e.
4 - 5. Liu et al 2000The World Checklist of Monocotyledons lists Musa dechangensis J.L.Liu & M.G.Liu, Acta Bot. Yunnan. 9: 163 (1987) as a synonym and Musa basjoo Siebold, Verh. Batav. Genootsch. Kunsten 12: 18 (1830) as the accepted name.
Section Eumusa (Musa) 1 Distribution Description References Index Kewensis, Liu et al 2000, Mobot Tropicos, Turner et al 2002, Wu 1997, WCM Comments This plant was originally described in 1987 as "Musa dechangensis J. L. Liu & M. G. Liu, Act. Bot. Yunnan. 9: 163. 1987. Syn. nov. TYPE: China. Sichuan: Dechang, Xiaogao, 1380 m, 2 Dec. 1984, J. L. Liu & J. Q. Xiao 179 (holotype, XIAS)."
Then in 1997 Wu Te-lin reduced it to synonymy with Musa balbisiana stating "Musa dechangensis is indistinguishable from M. balbisiana in almost all aspects of bracts, fruit, and seeds. The slight differences given by the authors can be observed within M. balbisiana and, therefore, do not support the recognition of this variant as an independent species."
Most recently, Liu et al studied herbarium material of Musa dechangensis and now consider it to be identical with Musa basjoo. They consider Wu's analysis to have been flawed. This is one piece of evidence identifying Musa basjoo as a Chinese plant and not a Japanese one, more on this here.
last updated 30/04/2008