Musa maclayi

Musa maclayi is a species of seeded banana native to Papua New Guinea and possibly the Solomon Islands.[2] It is placed in section Callimusa (now including the former section Australimusa).[3] It is regarded as one of the progenitors of the Fe'i banana cultivars.[4]

Musa maclayi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Musaceae
Genus: Musa
Section: Musa sect. Callimusa
Species:
M. maclayi
Binomial name
Musa maclayi

The plant has red sap and an upright flowering and fruiting stem.[5] The fruits are rounded and arranged closely together in bunches – partly joined along their edges in some varieties.[4]

The species was named after the explorer and naturalist Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay, who first described it:

"Besides the cultivated varieties, which have been obtained by exchange between the villages, there is to be found in the forest a wild Banana (Musa Maclayi F. v. M. [Ferdinand von Mueller]), compared to the cultivated varieties, with a tall stem (nearly twice as tall), with narrow stiff leaves and small (not edible) fruits full of seeds."

— N. Miklouho-Maclay[6]

Subspecies

Two subspecies[5][7] and two varieties[7] are known:

  • Musa maclayi subsp. ailuluai Argent
  • Musa maclayi subsp. maclayi (autonym)
  • Musa maclayi var. erecta (Simmonds) Argent
  • Musa maclayi var. namatani Argent

Notes and references
  1. "Musa maclayi". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  2. "Musa maclayi". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  3. Wong, C.; Kiew, R.; Argent, G.; Set, O.; Lee, S.K. & Gan, Y.Y. (2002). "Assessment of the Validity of the Sections in Musa (Musaceae) using ALFP". Annals of Botany. 90 (2): 231–238. doi:10.1093/aob/mcf170. PMC 4240415. PMID 12197520.
  4. Ploetz, R.C.; Kepler, A.K.; Daniells, J. & Nelson, S.C. (2007). "Banana and Plantain: An Overview with Emphasis on Pacific Island Cultivars". In Elevitch, C.R (ed.). Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry (PDF). Hōlualoa, Hawai'i: Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR). Retrieved 2013-01-10.
  5. Sharrock, S. (2001). "Diversity in the genus Musa: focus on Australimusa". In INIBAP (ed.). Networking Banana and Plantain: INIBAP Annual Report 2000 (PDF). Montpellier, France: International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain. pp. 14–19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  6. "List of plants in use by the natives of the Maclay-Coast, New Guinea", in The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales Vol. X 1885, p. 348
  7. "Musa maclayi". Altlas of Living Australia. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
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