ArticlePDF Available

Regarding the identity, rediscovery and taxonomic history of Musa nagensium (Musaceae) from India

Authors:
  • St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Irinjalakuda
  • Malabar Botanical Garden and IPS

Abstract and Figures

Since the publication of Musa nagensium Prain in 1904, this taxon has not been collected from the Indian forests or misidentified under different species. Here, M. nagensium is rediscovered after a lapse of more than a century from North-East India. M. nagensium var. hongii is reduced to the synonomy of M. nagensium. Detailed description, photographs, notes on distribution, ecological details and notes on variation are provided. IUCN conservation status based on the field study is also provided.
Content may be subject to copyright.
Rheedea
Vol. 24(1)
05-11
2014
Regarding the identity, rediscovery and taxonomic history of
Musa nagensium
(Musaceae) from India
Alfred Joe, P.E. Sreejith, O.A. Ashfak and M. Sabu*
Department of Botany, University of Calicut, Calicut University P.O
Thenhipalam, 673 635, Kerala, India.
*E-mail: msabu9@gmail.com
Abstract
Since the publication of
Musa nagensium
Prain in 1904, this taxon has not been collected from the Indian
forests or misidentified under different species. Here,
M. nagensium
is rediscovered after a lapse of more
than a century from North-East India.
M. nagensium
var.
hongii
is reduced to the synonomy of
M. nagensium
.
Detailed description, photographs, notes on distribution, ecological details and notes on variation are
provided. IUCN conservation status based on the field study is also provided.
Keywords:
Musa nagensium
,
M. nagensium
var.
hongii
, Rediscovery, taxonomic notes, synonymy, lectotype
Introduction
Musa nagensium Prain (1904) was initially described
based on the plant grown at the Royal Botanical
Garden, Calcua from the rootstocks collected
by Abdul Huq from Jaboca Naga Country (Naga
hills of Assam, the present Nagaland), North-
East India. Fawce (1913) included this taxon in
his book based on Prain’s description. Fischer
(1931) reported the occurrence of M. nagensium
from Myitkyina District of Upper Burma, some
200 miles from its type locality, based on a
specimen collected by Parkinson. Wilson (1946)
in his cytological studies in the Musae, used two
varieties of M. nagensium for breeding experiment,
and reported both consists of 11 chromosomes. He
further added that these varieties may be identical,
with dierent labels. Cheesman (1948) provided
a breif description of the taxon from the plants
grown at Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture
(I.C.T.A.), Trinidad, which was introduced from
the Myitkyina District, Burma. It was raised from
the seeds sent by C.W.D. Kermode in July 1939,
labelled ‘Ngapyaw-new’. He added that the detailed
description and photographs taken from that
plant will be supplied later if the plant survives,
which was not materialized. He also commented
on Prain’s quoting “the fruits, instead of being
recurved as in most species, point persistently
forward and downward in the direction of the
apex of the long pendulous rachis”. Subsequently,
Simmonds (1956) came across this species from
a Thai collection. He couldn’t see the plant in
owering stage, but the vegetative characters of
the plant agrees with the plant grown in I.C.T.A.
(Introd. No. 188). Simmonds noticed that seeds
are obscurely warty, sub-globose but somewhat
tapered towards the hilum and have a distinct and
relatively large hilum cavity. However, Simmonds
recorded its type in “Herb. Calcua, some
duplicates in Herb. Kew”, but has not designated
a lectotype.
After Simmonds (1956) this species remained
unnoticed by botanists and no collections were
made. Hore et al. (1992) mentioned the occurrence
of this species in North-East India with a brief
description based on earlier works. Karthikeyan
et al. (1989) included this species in their ‘Florae
Indicae Enumeratio Monocotyledonae’. Uma et al.
(2005) misidentied M. cheesmanii N.W.Simmonds
as M. nagensium and provided the photograph
of the former. Liu et al. (2002) lectotypied M.
nagensium by designating a specimen collected
by Abdul Huq s.n., from Naga Hills, preserved
at K (image !). They also mentioned it as an
‘incompletely known species’ in China because
of its limited distribution. Later, Häkkinen (2008)
described a new variety of M. nagensium viz., M.
nagensium var. hongii Häkkinen, based on the
imbricate nature of its male bud, bract color and
warty nature of seeds. Detailed studies based on
live collections from dierent parts of North-East
India, protologues, herbarium specimens etc, have
6
Regarding the identity, rediscovery and taxonomic history of
Musa nagensium
shown all these characters shown by M. nagensium
and are highly variable. Recently, Gogoi (2013)
reported M. nagensium var. hongii from India,
which is also a variant of M. nagensium. There was
no mention about the bract arrangement in the
protologue of M. nagensium and the bract color was
given as ‘Indian red’. The subsequent botanists
used the terms bracts convolute, bract color scarlet
red or ‘Indian red’ to M. nagensium and the nature
of seeds is also given as smooth (Häkkinen, 2008;
Gogoi, 2013). According to Cheesman (1948) and
Simmonds (1956) seeds of M. nagensium are big
and somewhat warty and bracts are imbricate due
to its remote nature from each other. The color of
bract is highly variable with dierent shades of
orange, yellow and red. Based on the observations
of a large number of live specimens from dierent
parts in India, it is concluded that M. nagensium is
highly variable and hence M. nagensium var. hongii
cannot be treated as distinct taxon and hence
merged with the typical variety.
M. nagensium had been unknown to botanists,
either misidentied or generalized under other
Musa species. There were no collection after type
collection from India and beleived it to be a lost
species or rather rare species (Häkkinen, 2008).
Lack of detailed account on Indian Musaceae
after Baker (1892) and properly identied well
preserved herbarium specimens made the situation
worse. Various other factors such as inaccessibility
to the dense evergreen forests during monsoon,
insurgency coupled with diculty in handling
bulky specimens for processing resulted in the
poor representation of Musaceae specimens in
Indian herbaria. Recent studies in India by the
authors have brought out a few new taxa viz. M.
velutina subsp. markkuana M.Sabu et al. (2013a),
M. velutina var. variegata A.Joe et al. (2014a), M.
sabuana Prasad et al. (2013), M. arunachalensis
A.Joe et al. (Sreejith et al. 2013), M. cylindrica A.Joe
et al. (2014c). A few taxa new to Indian Musaceae
were added by Sabu et al. (2013b) and Joe et al.
(2013a) include M. chunii Häkkinen and M. laterita
Cheesman respectively. Joe et al. (2013b,c, 2014b,d)
rediscovered M. cheesmanii N.W.Simmonds, M.
aviora N.W.Simmonds, M. mannii H.Wendl. ex
Baker, M. ochracea K.Sheph. and M. thomsonii (King
ex Baker) A.M.Cowan & Cowan after a lapse of
more than half of a century.
During intensive explorations in Arunachal
Pradesh and Nagaland since 2010, authors could
nd large populations of M. nagensium, including
from its type locality, ie. Naga hills of Nagaland.
This forms the rst authenticate collection from the
type locality after a lapse of 109 years. A detailed
botanical description of the species is provided to
avoid confusion of the species and to facilitate its
easy identication. Herbarium specimens were
deposited at CALI, and also established a live
germplasm of the species in Calicut University
Botanical Garden (CUBG) for further studies.
Taxonomic treatment
Musa nagensium Prain, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt.
2, Nat. Hist. 73(1): 21. 1904; Fawc., The Banana
266. 1913; Fischer, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1931(1):
28. 1931; Cheesman, Kew Bull. 3(3): 325. 1948;
Simmonds, Kew Bull. 11(3): 477. 1956; et Kew
Bull. 14(2): 204. 1960; Karthik. et al., Fl. Ind. Enum.
Monocot. 4: 104. 1989; Hore et al., J. Econ. Taxon.
Bot. 16(2): 451. 1992; Liu et al., Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin.
43: 80. 2002; Häkkinen & Väre, Adansonia 30(1): 84.
2008; Häkkinen, Novon 18(3): 336. 2008; et Taxon
62(4): 810. 2013. Fig. 1, 2.
Typus: INDIA, Assam [Nagaland], Jaboca, Abdul
Huq s.n. (K, image!) (Lectotypus, designated by Liu
et al., 2002).
M. nagensium var. hongii Häkkinen, Novon 18(3):
337. 2008; Gogoi, R. Taiwania 58(1): 50. 2013. syn.
nov.
Typus: CHINA, Yunnan, Dehong District,
Yingjiang County, Xima, Mu Lai River, 930 m, 8
January 2006, Wang Hong 8383 (Holotypus: HITBC,
image!).
Plants slender, slightly-suckering, close to parent
plant, 20–25 cm, suckers 3–4, vertically arranged.
Mature pseudostems 3.57 m high, 5060 cm diam.
at the base, greenish yellow or olive green at young
stage, reddish-brown to almost black at maturity,
glaucous, more waxy towards the top, most
conspicuously waxy in young suckers, underlying
color light green with reddish-brown pigmentation
or with reddish-brown large patches, shiny. Leaf
habit drooping, more remote from each other,
lamina 130–210 × 40–46 cm, oblong-lanceolate,
truncate at apex, upper surface green, dull, with
reddish-brown margin, lower surface hardly waxy
though grayish in tone, leaf bases asymmetric, one
side rounded and other auriculated, midrib dorsally
and ventrally yellow-green. Petioles slender, 4555
cm long, yellow-green, waxy, without any blotches
at the base, petiole bases winged, with red margins
and clasping the pseudostem. Inorescence semi-
pendulous or rst horizontal then pendulous,
peduncle 20–45 cm long, 3–5 cm in diam., dark
green with some purple pigmentation, glaucous,
without grooves. Sterile bracts 1–5, deciduous
A.Joe
et al.
7
Fig. 1.
Musa nagensium
Prain: a. Habitat; b. Leaf apex(ventral surface); c. Leaf base (dorsal surface); d. Cross-section of
petiole; ei. Male flower parts; e. Entire flower; f. Compound tepal; g. Free tepal; h. Flower without tepals; i. Rudiment
pistilode; j1j7. Variations in inflorescences; k1k6. Variations in arrangement of bracts and shape of male bud; l1l5.
Variations in shape and color pattern of bracts; m1m2. Variations in fruit bunch; n1n2. Variations in seed structure and
shape.
8
Regarding the identity, rediscovery and taxonomic history of
Musa nagensium
Fig. 2.
Musa nagensium
Prain: a. Leaf apex; b. Leaf base; c. C.S. of petiole; d male bud; ej. Male flower parts;
e. Entire flower; f. Compound tepal; g. Free tepal; h. Flower without tepals; i. Pistilode; j. Stamen; k. Fruit bunch.
Illustration by Alfred Joe.
A.Joe
et al.
9
or persistent, 20–30 cm long, green to yellow-
orange, glaucous adaxially. Female bud almost
cylindrical or lanceolate, highly imbricated or
imbrications conned to apex. Bracts 1323 × 5–10
cm, oblong-lanceolate, smooth, adaxially yellow-
orange combined with brick red or variables
of red, yellow and orange, margins red, waxy,
abaxially orange, shiny, apex obtuse, lifting one
bract at a time, not revolute before falling. Basal
4–8 hands female. Flowers 4–12 per bract in two
rows, Male bud lanceolate to cylindrical, highly
imbricate or imbrications conned to apex, rachis
falling vertically, growing around 1 m. Bracts
comparatively remote on the slender rachis give
the bud highly imbricate nature, 9.519 × 5–8.5 cm,
smooth, lanceolate, adaxially glaucous, mixed with
orange-yellow and brick red or yellow, margins
red, apex green or orange, obtuse, adaxially
creamy orange to orange, shiny, lifting one bract
at a time, just open, deciduous or persistent, the
bud growing at maturity of fruits. Male owers
on average 8–16 per bract in two rows, 4.86.4 cm
long, falling with the bract, bract scars prominent.
Compound tepal 3.95 × 0.91.4 cm, creamy orange,
ribbed at dorsal angles, and with 5-toothed orange
lobes, outer two lobes much larger, 0.6–0.7 × 0.5 cm.
Free tepal 2.83.7 × 0.81.9 cm, translucent cream,
boat-shaped, corrugated at apex, incised along
margins or not, apex acuminate, with or without
acumen. Stamens 5, 3.54.5 cm long, exserted,
lament cream to white, 1.92.2 cm long, anther
cream to golden yellow, 1.42.7 cm long, apex
curved backwards. Ovary straight, rudiment, 1.5
1.7 cm long, creamy white with yellow tinge, style
straight, inserted, 34.1 cm long, stigma globose,
cream to creamy yellow. Fruit bunch lax, with
4–8 hands and 412 fruits per hand, in two rows,
clavate-oblong, hanging in slender rachis and
pointed towards the male bud, straight, distinctly
angular, green to dark green, glaucous, sometimes
with black spots, long stalked, individual fruit
12–15 cm long, pedicel 1.8–2 cm long, glabrous,
apex slightly pointed, without any oral relicts,
immature fruit pulp white, becoming white and
soft at maturity, fruits not self-peeling at maturity.
Seeds large, irregularly angular, somewhat warty,
0.9–1.4 mm across, 0.50.6 mm high, tapered
towards the circum-hilar area, brown-black except
for the circum-hilar region which is white, 25–40
per fruit.
Flowering and fruiting: June – December.
Specimens examined: INDIA, Arunachal Pradesh,
Changlang, Way to Khela, 450 m, 18 .10.1959,
R.S.Rao 20280 (ASSAM, CAL); 9 mile, way to
Changlang, N 27° 13.067’ E 095° 43.402’, 444 m,
16.08.2011, A. Joe & Sreejith 130709 (CALI), Way
to Changlang, N 27° 13.234’ E 095° 43.583’, 446
m, 16.08.2011, A. Joe & Sreejith 130713 (CALI);
Nagaland, Jaboca District, Naga Hills, 16.05.1899,
Abdul Huq s.n. (CAL, K); Tingali Bam, 16.06.1899,
Abdul Huq s.n. (CAL, K); Mokokchung District,
Minkgong Reserve Forest, Momgsanyemti, N 26°
25.936’ E 094° 37.565’, 1063 m, 27.11.2012, A. Joe &
Ashfak 121605 (CALI), Minkgong Reserve Forest,
N 26° 26.068’ E 094° 38.053’, 1029 m, 27.11.2012, A.
Joe & Ashfak 121606 (CALI). West Bengal, Calcua
Botanical Garden (Cultivated), 1904, D. Prain
(CAL); Darjeeling District, Kalimpong, Kenibreed
plants (originally collected from Changlang
area of Arunachal Pradesh), N 27° 03.455’ E 088°
28.151’, 1253 m, 21.04.2013, M. Sabu 130770 (CALI).
MYANMAR, Myitkyina District, Tagwin Chaung,
400 ft., 24.11.1928, C.E. Parkinson 1759 (K).
Distribution and Ecology: China, Myanmar, India
and Thailand. In India M. nagensium is widely
distributed in some areas of Arunachal Pradesh
and Nagaland, occurring typically at elevations
from 4001100 m in moist ravines. This species is
found inside the thick forests in moist ravines in
small populations, also near small water streams in
black humus soil. We can also nd big populations
in open places in forest slopes.
Conservation status: M. nagensium is widely
distributed in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
Also common in some areas of China, Myanmar
and Thailand. Based on the eld experience for the
past several years, it is kept under Least Concern
(LC) category according to IUCN Red List Criteria
(IUCN, 2011).
Notes: M. nagensium can be easily distinguished
from the other members of sect. Musa by the
characteristic slender pseudostem, slightly
suckering plant, widely spaced leaves, intense
wax on the lower surface of leaves, imbricate male
bud and also in the fruits. Fruit bunch instead
of being curved backwards as in most species,
point persistently forward and downward in the
direction of the apex of the long pendulous rachis.
Etymology: The specic epithet ‘nagensium’ is based
on its type location, ie. Naga Hills of Nagaland.
Notes on Variation: M. nagensium shows remarkable
variation in pseudostem, inorescence, buds,
bracts, fruits and seeds in dierent conditions
within populations and also under cultivation (Fig.
1, j–n). The variation in inorescence is portrayed
in the presence or absence of female owers and
fruits. The imbricate nature of male bud shows
10
Regarding the identity, rediscovery and taxonomic history of
Musa nagensium
Literature Cited
Baker, J.G. 1892. Musaceae. In. Hooker. The ora
of British India. Vol. 4. London: L. Reeve & Co.
pp. 261-263.
Cheesman, E.E. 1948. Classication of the Bananas:
Critical Notes on Species: Musa nagensium. Kew
Bull. 3(3): 325-328.
Fawce, W. 1913. The Banana: Its Cultivation,
Distribution, and Commercial Uses. London:
Duckworth & Co.
Fischer, C.E.C. 1931. Musa nagensium. Contribution
to the ora of Burma: IX. Bull. Misc. Inf. (Royal
Gardens, Kew) 1931(1): 28.
Gogoi, R. 2013. Musa nagensium var. hongii
Häkkinen - a new addition to the ora of India.
Taiwania 58(1): 49-52.
Häkkinen, M. 2008. Identity of Musa nagensium
(Musceae) in Southeast Asia. Novon 18(3): 336-
339.
Hore, D.K., Sharma, B.D. & Pandey, G. 1992.
Status of banana in North-East India. J. Econ.
Tax. Bot. 16(2): 447-455.
IUCN Standards and Petitions subcommiee.
high degree of variation from prominent or
conned to the apex. Bracts may be persistent or
deciduous and their color varies with dierent
shades of yellow, orange, red and green (Fig.1.
k4 - male bud in wild condition, k2, k3, k6 - the
same under cultivation in dierent seasons). The
shape, size and color of fruits as well as seeds vary
considerably. Seeds within a fruit shows smooth
or warty surface.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Department of
Science and Technology, New Delhi, for the
nancial assistance for the research projects on
Indian Marantaceae and Musaceae (Sanction No.
SR/SO/PS-115/09, dtd 19.08.2010). We also thank
the ocers of the Forest Department, Arunachal
Pradesh and Nagaland for granting permission
and providing necessary help for the eld studies
in the forest. Thanks are also due to Shyam Sunder
Agarwal (Assam) and Mr. Santanu Dey (Nagaland)
for their help during the collection of specimens.
Alao thankful to Mr. Keshow Chandra Pradhan
(Kenibreed plants, Kalimpong) for collecting,
conserving and providing plants for our study..
2011. Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List
Categories and Criteria. Version 9.0. Prepared
by the Standards and Petitions Subcommiee
of the IUCN Species Survival Commision.
IUCN, Gland, Swierland and Cambridge,
UK.
Joe, A., Sabu, M. & Sreejith, P.E. 2013c. On
the rediscovery of Musa ochracea K.Sheph.
(Musaceae) from North-East India. Taiwania.
58(4): 321-325.
Joe, A., Sabu, M. & Sreejith, P.E. 2014a. A new
variety of Musa velutina H.Wendl. & Drude
(Musaceae) from Assam, North-East India.
Plant Syst. Evol. 300: 13-17.
Joe, A., Sabu, M., Ashfak, A. & Sreejith, P.E.
2013a. Musa laterita Cheesman (Musaceae): A
new record for India from the wild, with a key
to the Musa (Section Rhodochlamys) in India.
Folia Malaysiana 14(1): 37-44.
Joe, A., Sreejith, P.E. & Sabu, M. 2014b. On the
rediscovery and extended didtribution of
Musa Cheesmanii (Musaceae) from North-East
India. Int. J. Pl. Anim. Environ. Sci. 4(2): 1-4.
Joe, A., Sreejith, P.E. & Sabu, M. 2013b. Notes
on the rediscovery and taxonomic status of
M. aviora N.W.Simmonds and M. thomsonii
(King ex Schumann) A.M. Cowan & Cowan
(Musaceae) from India. Ann. Plant Sci. 2(8):
260-267.
Joe, A., Sreejith, P.E. & Sabu, M. 2014c. Musa
cylindrica, a new species of Musa (Musaceae)
from North-East India. Phytotaxa 172(2): 137-
140.
Joe, A., Sreejith, P.E. & Sabu, M. 2014d. Notes
on the rediscovery, taxonomic history and
conservation of Musa mannii H.Wendl. ex
Baker (Musaceae) Webbia 69(1): 115-120.
Karthikeyan, S., Jain, S.K., Nayar, M.P., &
Sanjappa, M. 1989. Musaceae. In. Florae
Indicae Enumeratio Monocotledonae, Flora of
India Series 4, India: Botanical Survey of India,
Calcua. pp. 103-105.
Liu, A-Z., Li, D-Z. & Li, X-W. 2002. Taxonomic
notes on wild bananas (Musa) from China. Bot.
Bull. Acad. Sin. 43: 77-81.
Prain, D. 1904. An undescribed Indian Musa. J. Asi.
Soc. Bengal 73(1): 21-22.
Prasad, K., Joe, A., Bheemalingappa, M. & Rao,
A.Joe
et al.
11
B.R.P. 2013. Musa sabuana (Musaceae): A new
species from Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
India. Indian J. Forestry 36(1): 151-153.
Sabu, M., Joe, A. & Sreejith, P.E. 2013a. Musa
velutina subsp. markkuana (Musaceae): a new
subspecies from northeastern India. Phytotaxa
92(2): 49-54.
Sabu, M., Joe, A. & Sreejith, P.E. 2013b. Musa
chunii Häkkinen (Musaceae): An addition
to the wild banana ora of India and notes
on conservation of a Critically Endangered
species. Ann. Plant Sci. 2(5): 160-162.
Simmonds, N.W. 1956. Botanical results of the
banana collection expedition, 1954-5. Kew Bull.
11(3): 463-489.
Sreejith, P.E., Joe, A. & Sabu, M. 2013. Musa
arunachalensis: a new species of Musa section
Rhodochlamys (Musaceae) from Arunachal
Pradesh, northeastern India. Phytotaxa 134: 49-
54.
Uma, S., Sathiamoorthy, S., & Durai, P. 2005.
Banana. Indian Genetic Resource and
Catalogue. India: National Research Centre
for Banana (NRCB), Tiruchirapalli. pp 1-268.
Wilson, G.B. 1946. Cytological studies in the
Musae. II. Meiosis in some diploid clones.
Genetics 31: 475-482.
Received: 11.11.2013
Revised and accepted: 28.05.2014
... Though the species M. schizocarpa and M. textilis were endemic to Papua New Guinea, they do not show morphological diversification [7]. The species Musa nagensium remained unnoticed by botanists for quite long time and no collections were made more than a century from the habitat, viz., North-East India [8]. In addition, literature shows that the species M. cheesmanii N.W. simmonds was misidentified as M. nagensium and was provided with the photograph of the former. ...
... It was subsequently rediscovered and detailed description was provided by both [9,10]. Similarly, there was a misidentification of a species with AAA genome, which showed similarity to ABB genome [8]. The occurrence of genetic diversity has been satisfactorily documented in the pool of M. acuminata species by employing primers of highly repetitive sequences and tandem repeats by [11,12]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: The banana (Musa sp., AAA) genome is constantly increasing due to high-frequency of somaclonal variations. Due to its large diversity, a conventional numerical and morphological based taxonomic identification of banana cultivars is laborious, difficult and often leads to subject of disagreements. Results: Hence, in the present study, we used universal DNA barcode ITS2 region to identify and to find the genetic relationship between the cultivars and varieties of banana. Herein, a total of 16 banana cultivars were PCR amplified using ITS2 primer pair. In addition, 321 sequences which were retrieved from GenBank, USA, were used in this study. The sequences were then aligned using Clustal W and genetic distances were computed using MEGA V5.1. The study showed significant divergence between the intra- and inter-specific genetic distances in ITS2 region. BLAST1 and Distance methods proved that ITS2 DNA barcode region successfully identified and distinguished the cultivar and varieties of banana. Conclusion: Thus, from the results of the present study, it is clear that ITS2 is not only an efficient DNA barcode to identify the banana species but also a potential candidate for enumerating the phylogenetic relationships between the subspecies and cultivars. This is the first comprehensive study to categorically distinguish the economically important banana subspecies and varieties using DNA barcodes and to understand its evolutionary relationship.
... Though the species M. schizocarpa and M. textilis were endemic to Papua New Guinea, they do not show morphological diversification [7]. The species Musa nagensium remained unnoticed by botanists for quite long time and no collections were made more than a century from the habitat, viz., North-East India [8]. In addition, literature shows that the species M. cheesmanii N.W. simmonds was misidentified as M. nagensium and was provided with the photograph of the former. ...
... It was subsequently rediscovered and detailed description was provided by both [9,10]. Similarly, there was a misidentification of a species with AAA genome, which showed similarity to ABB genome [8]. The occurrence of genetic diversity has been satisfactorily documented in the pool of M. acuminata species by employing primers of highly repetitive sequences and tandem repeats by [11,12]. ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: The banana ( Musa sp., AAA ) genome is constantly increasing due to high frequency somaclonal variations. Due to its large diversity, a conventional numerical and morphological based taxonomic identification of banana cultivars is laborious, difficult, and often is a subject of disagreements. Results: In study, we used ITS2 region to identify and determine the genetic relationship between the cultivars and varieties of banana. Herein, a total of 16 banana cultivars were PCR amplified using ITS2 region. In addition, 321 sequences were retrieved from GenBank, USA, and used for the study. The sequences were aligned using Clustal W and genetic distances computed using MEGA V5.1. The significant divergence between the intra- and -specific genetic distances of ITS2 region was observed and the presence of a DNA barcoding gap was obvious. Based on BLAST1 and Distance methods, the results proved that ITS2 region can be successfully identified and distinguished for the cultivar and varieties of banana. Secondly, in this study, ITS2 revealed the relations between the cultivar and varieties of banana. Conclusion: Thus, from this study, it is clear that ITS2 is not only an efficient DNA barcode to identify the banana species but also a potential candidate to study phylogenetic relationships between subspecies and cultivars. This is the first comprehensive study to categorically distinguish the economically important banana sub-species and varieties using DNA barcodes and to understand its evolutionary relationship
... Sabu et al. (2013b) and Joe et al. (2013a) reported the occurrence of Musa chunii Häkkinen and Musa laterita, respectively. Joe et al. (2013bJoe et al. ( , 2013c2014b, 2014d) also made some rediscoveries -Musa cheesmanii N.W. Simmonds, Musa flaviflora N.W. Simmonds, Musa mannii H. Wendl. ex Baker, Musa nagensium Prain, Musa ochracea K. Sheph. ...
Article
Since the publication of Musa kattuvzhana K.C.Jacob, this taxon has not been recorded or included in any of the South Indian Floras. The correct identity of M. kattuvzhana is described here and Musa acuminata subsp. burmannica N.W. Simmonds and Musa banksii var. singampatti T.G. Nayar are reduced to synonymy. Detailed description, photographs and IUCN conservation status based on field studies are provided.
... Sabu et al. (2013b) and Joe et al. (2013a) recorded the occurrence of Musa chunii Häkkinen and Musa laterita Cheesman, respectively, from India. Joe et al. (2013bJoe et al. ( , 2013cJoe et al. ( , 2014bJoe et al. ( , 2014d) also made some rediscoveries, namely, Musa cheesmanii N.W.Simmonds, Musa flaviflora N.W.Simmonds, Musa mannii H.Wendl. ex Baker, Musa nagensium Prain, Musa ochracea K. Sheph. and Musa thomsonii (King ex Baker) A.M.Cowan & Cowan after a lapse of 50-125 years. ...
Article
A new variety of Musa sikkimensis is described here as M. sikkimensis var. simmondsii. Notes on taxonomic identity and history of M. sikkimensis are provided. Isoneotype for M. sikkimensis and lectotype for Musa hookerii are designated. Detailed description, photographs and notes on distribution and ecology of both the taxa are provided for easy identification.
Article
Full-text available
India is considered as the centre of origin of bananas, both wild and cultivated. During the revision of the family Musaceae, as much of the specimens were collected from all over India and conserved in Calicut University Botanical Garden (CUBG), of which most of them are with high ornamental potential. This paper focuses mainly on such species which can be introduced into gardens because of its ornamental value. Ensete glaucum, E. superbum, Musa arunachalensis, M. aurantiaca, M. chunii, M. laterita, M. mannii, M. markkui, M. ornate, M. rubra, M. sanguinea, M. velutina, M. velutina subsp. markkuana and M. velutina var. variegate are some of the ornamental bananas that are common in use and also can introduce into gardens. The ornamental value and the characters that raised that value of each taxa are also materialized here.
Article
Full-text available
Musa mannii has been considered as extinct in the wild. There is no information on any collected specimen ever; the description by Baker in 1892 was based on a living specimen, and neotypification is based on a figure drawn of that living plant, published after description. Recently, M. mannii was rediscovered after a lapse of more than a century growing wild in northeastern India. Detailed description, illustration, photographs, distribution, ecological data, taxonomic history and additional notes are provided. IUCN status has been assigned here as Critically Endangered in the wild and conservation measures to be undertaken based on a field study are also provided.
Article
Full-text available
Musa cheesmanii is rediscovered after 57 years. A note on its extended distribution is also discussed. Detailed description and photographs are provided for easy identification.
Article
Full-text available
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.
Article
Full-text available
A new subspecies of Musa velutina belonging to section Rhodochlamys from northeastern India is described and illustrated as Musa velutina subsp. markkuana. A detailed description, distribution, ecology, phenology and relevant taxonomic notes are provided.
Article
Full-text available
Since the publication of Musa ochracea by Shepherd in 1964, based on a specimen from an unknown locality, this taxon has not been collected from the wild. Here Musa ochracea is rediscovered after a lapse of about half a century from NorthEast India. Detailed description, illustration, photographs, distribution and ecological details are provided. IUCN conservation status based on the field study is also provided.
Article
Musa paracoccinea is published as a new species. Two imperfectly known species, M. nagensium and M. sanguinea are accepted. Musa lushanensis, M. luteola and M. dechangensis are reduced as synonyms of M. basjoo. It is pointed out here that M. wilsonii and M. rubra used in the Chinese literature such as Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. and Fl. Yunnan. are in fact misidentifications of M. itinerans and M. sanguinea, respectively.
Article
A wild banana species from West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India, belonging to section Rhodochlamys, is newly described as Musa arunachalensis. A detailed description, additional notes, illustration, phenology and photographs are provided.
Article
A new species of Musa belonging to the Sect. Musa from Meghalaya, NorthEast India is described as Musa cylindrica. A detailed description, distribution, ecology, phenology and key to the related species are provided.