Musa chunii Häkkinen (Musaceae): An addition to the wild banana flora of India and notes on conservation of a Critically Endangered species

Abstract

Musa chunii Häkkinen, a Chinese species with ornamental potential is reported for the
first time from India. A detailed description, photographs, conservation measures and relevant
notes on the species are provided.

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ISSN: 2287-688X
Original Research Article
*Corresponding Author:
Dr. M. Sabu,
Professor & Head,
Department of Botany,
University of Calicut,
Kerala, 673 635, India.
Page| 1
60
Musa chunii Häkkinen (Musaceae): An addition to the wild banana flora of
India and notes on conservation of a Critically Endangered species.
Sabu
M
*
, Alfred Joe
and
PE Sreejith
Department of Botany, University of Calicut, Calicut University P. O., Thenhipalam- 673 635
Kerala, India
Received for publication:
January
21
, 2013;
Accepted
: February
26
, 2013.
Introduction
Musaceae, commonly known as
banana family, distributed in tropical Asia
from the eastern Himalayas to northern
Australia and also in tropical Africa. India is
well known for its vast genetic diversity of
members of Musaceae comprising seeded wild
species to seedless cultivars of various ploidy
levels. Being great economic importance in
Agriculture, the cultivated bananas have
attracted a good sense of research in India.
The wild relatives, however, have attracted
much less attention, as they are
taxonomically difficult group because of the
large fleshy nature of the plant, ephemeral
aspect of the flowers and poor presentation in
herbaria and literature. In India wild Musa
spp. are largely distributed in North-Eastern
States, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However,
many regions within its center of
diversification in North-East India have not
been explored systematically due to various
factors. No comprehensive work on the family
or any genera in particular has been carried
out since Hooker (1892). The only work after
Hooker covering the whole India is the mere
enumeration by Karthikeyan et al., (1989).
Recently many species have been reported
from neighboring countries like China,
Myanmar, Vietnam etc. Considering the lesser
number of new reports of taxa from India, as
compared from neighboring countries, we
could expect more from this region also. This
paper focuses on the new record of M. chunii
Häkkinen (2009) from India, which belongs to
the sect. Rhodochlamys. The section is
characterized by having erect or drooping
inflorescence with fruit pointing towards the
bunch apex. Most of the species also typically
have relatively few fruits and are best known
for their brightly colored bracts, a feature that
makes them popular as ornamental plants’
(Cheesman, 1947; Simmonds, 1962;
Shepherd, 1999; Häkkinen & Sharrock,
2002). This is an interesting ornamental
banana with the purpl/lilac bracts and green
fruits turning to yellow which lasts for about
2–3 months
During a recent field survey to
Kalimpong and Gangtok, the senior author
could collect an interesting Musa from the
Kenibreed Nursery of Kalimpong, which was
originally collected and maintained by Mr.
Keshow Chandra Pradhan from Tezu region of
Arunachal Pradesh. Since the specimen did
not match with any of the specimens
described from India, it was compared to the
species described from other countries. It was
identified as M. chunii and this interesting
rare species was first described from Dehong
Prefecture, Yunnan, China and known to
occur only in china and Myanmar. This
collection forms an addition to the Indian wild
banana. Hence, a detailed botanical
description of the species is provided to
facilitate its easy identification, based on
living plants from the Kenibreed Nursery,
Kalimpong by completing the entire INIBAP
Musa Descriptor List (IPGRI INIBAP/CIRAD,
1996). The descriptive terms here follow the
traditional banana taxonomy as used by
Simmonds (Simmonds, 1962, 1966) and
Argent (Argent, 1976). The photographs for
the support of description are also provided.
Voucher specimens were deposited at the
Calicut University Herbarium (CALI). Apart
Abstract:
Musa chunii
H
ä
kkinen
, a
Chinese
species with ornamental potential is reported for the
first time from India. A detailed description, photographs, conservation measures and relevant
notes on the species are provided.
Keywords: Musaceae, Musa chunii, New Record, North-East India, Rhodochlamys,

Sabu et al.: Annals of Plant Sciences, 2013, 02 (05), 160-162
Page | 161
from the Kenibreed Seeds nursery, the taxon
would be conserved in the Calicut University
Botanical Garden (CUBG) also. Every effort
would be taken for its multiplication and in
situ conservation of the taxon in its natural
habitat.
Taxonomic Treatment:
Musa chunii Häkkinen, Journal of
Systematics and Evolution 47(1): 87–91.
2009. Fig. 1.
Fig.1: Musa chunii Häkkinen A: Habit. B:
Inflorescence. C: Infructescence. D: Single
fruit. E: Leaf base. F: Leaf apex. G: Bisexual
flower. H: Flower without tepals. I: Cross-
section of ovary. J: Bract. K: Male flower. L:
Flower without tepals. Photos by M. Sabu.
Type: China. Yunnan: Dehong Prefecture,
Yingjiang County, Tongibiguan Nature
Reserve, alt. 1185 m, N
24 , 06 April 2006, M.
Häkkinen 517 (holotype HITBC; isotypes, H,
ISBC, PE)
Plants slender, suckering freely, close
to the parent plant, 20–60cm, suckers many,
vertically arranged. Mature pseudostems 1.2–
1.8m high, 6–9cm diam. at the base, light
green, covered with old brown leaf sheaths,
underlying color light green with red-purple
pigmentation, shiny, sap milky. Leaf habit
intermediate, laminae 100–120×40–55cm,
oblong-lanceolate, truncate at apex, adaxially
dark green with purple margin, dull, abaxially
medium green, appearance shiny, leaf bases
asymmetric, both sides pointed, midrib
adaxially light green with purple
pigmentation, abaxially pink-purple. Petioles
30–42cm long, petiole margins open with
erect and red-purple blotches at the base,
petiole bases winged and not clasping the
pseudostem. Inflorescences pendulous,
peduncles 8–12cm long, cream with pink
tinge, densely puberulent with short white
hairs, without grooves. Sterile bract 1–2,
persistent, 20–22cm long, violet abaxially and
adaxially. Female buds lanceolate, convolute.
Female bracts 18–20×7–9cm, pale lilac
abaxially and adaxially, slightly glaucous
outside, shiny inside, apex pointed, lifting one
bract at a time, revolute and persistent. Basal
4–5 hands hermaphrodite. Flowers 4–6 per
bract in a single row, 6.5–8cm long.
Compound tepal 3.5–4.5 × 2–2.3cm, cream,
ribbed at dorsal angles, lobes 5, yellow,
0.3×0.3cm, with horn-like appendage to
outer two lobes 0.3–0.4cm long. Free tepal
3.1–3.4×1.8–2.2cm, translucent white, oval-
shaped, corrugated at apex with a short
acumen, recurved. Stamens 5, 3.8–4.4cm
long, cream, filament cream, 1.7–2, anther
cream, 2.1–2.4. Ovary 3–3.3cm long,
straight, light green, with ovules in 2 rows per
locule, axile placentation, style straight,
inserted, 2.3–2.6cm long, cream, stigma
globose, 0.8×0.4cm, creamy yellow. Male bud
lanceolate, convolute, rachises pendulous.
Male bracts 10–17×4.5–5cm, pale lilac
abaxially and adaxially, very little wax
present, apex pointed, lifting 2 bracts at a
time, revolute and persistent, the whole bud
degenerating after producing some bracts.
Male flowers on average 6 per bract in one
row, 4.8–5.4cm long. Compound tepal 4–
4.3×1.1–1.2cm, cream, ribbed at dorsal
angles, and with 5-toothed orange-yellow
lobes. Free tepal 3–3.5×1.2–1.3cm,
translucent cream, corrugated at apex with a
short acumen. Stamens 5, 4–4.5cm long,
exserted, filament white, 2–2.4cm long,
anther cream, 2–2.5cm long. Ovary straight,
1.1–1.2cm long, creamy white, style straight,
inserted, 3.5–3.7cm long, stigma cream,
globose. Fruit bunch lax, with 5 hands and 4–
6 fruits per hand, in a single row, fingers
curved towards the peduncle, individual fruit
6.7–7.4cm long, 2.5–3cm diam., pedicel c.
1cm long, glabrous, fruits curved, slightly
ridged, apex blunt-tipped, with floral relicts,

Sabu et al.: Annals of Plant Sciences, 2013, 02 (05), 160-162
Page | 162
immature fruit peel color green with black
blotches, becoming yellow.
Distribution and habitat: M. chunii
is distributed in China and Myanmar. The
present record of this species from Arunachal
Pradesh shows its extended distribution to
India. This species grow is as forest
undergrowth.
Conservation status: This species
has been collected only from one location in
Arunachal Pradesh and could found 10–15
plants in a clump and is very rare. No
populations were located in from other
Northeastern states. Häkkinen could collect
only one population from China bordering
Myanmar and an isolated population from
Myanmar. M. chunii is here given the status
of Critically Endangered (CE) (IUCN 2011).
The extent of occurrence is estimated to be
less than 10 sq km area and the species is
known to exist in only three localities.
Continuing decline in area of occupancy may
be the reason for the decline of population.
Clearing of hills for cultivation can cause
damage to the existing population and will
lead to the extinction of this interesting
species. As part of conservation program of
Wild Indian Musaceae, this would be
conserved in Calicut University Botanical
Garden. Every effort will be taken for in situ
conservation of this potential ornamental
plant in its natural habitat.
Flowering and fruiting: January–August.
Notes: This species shows similarity with M.
rubinea Häkkinen of the section
Rhodochlamys but differ from it in having pale
lilac color bracts, creamy peduncle and much
big fruits.
Specimens examined: INDIA. West
Bengal: Kalimpong, Everest Nursery area
(originally collected from Tezu, Arunachal
Pradesh), 21 April 2013, N
27 , 1253 m, M. Sabu
130763 (CALI!),
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to the
Department of Science and Technology (New
Delhi) for the financial assistance for the
research projects on Indian Marantaceae and
Musaceae (Sanction No. SR/SO/PS-115/09,
dtd 19.08.2010). The authors would also like
to thank to Mr. Keshow Chandra Pradhan
(Kenibreed plants, Kalimpong) for collecting
and conserving the plant in his nursery. Also
thanks to the officers of the Forest
Department, Arunachal Pradesh for granting
permission and providing necessary help for
the field studies in the forest.
References
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Source of support: Nil
Conflict of interest: None Declared