Musa formosana

Musa formosana

Musa formosana (O. Warburg ex K. M. Schumann) B. Hayata, Icones plantarum formosanarum nec non et contributiones ad floram formosanam. (Icon. Pl. Formosan., Suppl.) : 83 (1917).

Accepted name

Musa formosana (O. Warburg ex K. M. Schumann) B. Hayata, Icones plantarum formosanarum nec non et contributiones ad floram formosanam. (Icon. Pl. Formosan., Suppl.) : 83 (1917).

Synonyms

Musa paradisiaca L. var. formosana O. Warburg ex K. M. Schumann in A. Engler et al (eds.) Das Pflanzenreich. Engelmann, Leipzig, 1900 - . 4, 45 : 21 (1912).
Musa basjoo P. F. (B.) von Siebold & J. G. Zuccarini ex Y. Iinuma var. formosana ((O. Warburg ex K. M. Schumann) B. Hayata) S. S. Ying, Mem. Coll. Agric. Nation. Taiwan Univ., 25 (2) : 100 (1985).

Authorities

The name is accepted because Ying did not validly publish Musa basjoo var. formosana.

The synonymy is from Ying 1985.

The World Checklist of Monocotyledons gives Musa formosana (Warb.) Hayata, Icon. Pl. Formosan. 6(Suppl.): 83 (1917) as an accepted name.

Section

Eumusa (Musa) 1

Distribution

Taiwan.

Description

Mobot Tropicos, TFRI Taiwan, Ying 1985.

References

Chiu et al 2004, Mobot Tropicos, TFRI Taiwan, Ying 1985.

Comments

The relationship between this banana and Musa basjoo is not yet clarified. Musa basjoo is a Chinese species (not Japanese) and it would not be unexpected for this Taiwanese banana to be closely related to one on the Chinese mainland. S-S Ying treats it as Musa basjoo var. formosana but did not publish the combination validly and so it must be ignored. However, that has no bearing on the true relationship between the plants. Chiu et al differentiate Musa formosana and Musa basjoo as follows:

Trait

Musa formosana
Original data and from Ying (1985).

Musa basjoo
From Daniells et al (2001).

Sex of basal flowers Hermaphrodite Female

Colour of male buds Pale yellow with purple-red streak/ Pale yellow Yellow/Yellow-brown

Bunch position Horizontal Horizontal

Fruit position Parallel to the stalk Perpendicular to the stalk

Colour of mature fruit Green with purple-red streak Yellow

Seed shape Flattened to angular Angular
(more or less pyramidal)

From Chiu et al 2004

For the time being Musa formosana must be considered as a distinct species.

Images:

There are external images of Musa formosana at http://www.tari.gov.tw/taric/uploads/journal_arc_53-3-6.pdf
There are external images of Musa formosana at
http://www.tari.gov.tw/GMO/book-2/P24-%E9%A6%99%E8%95%89-%E9%82%B1%E8%BC%9D%E9%BE%8D-ok.pdf