( Cavendish banana, Chinese banana, Edible Banana and banana)

Musa acuminata var. burmannicoides DeLanghe
Musa brieyi DeWild.
Musa cavendishii Lamb. ex Paxton
Musa chinensis Lamb.
Musa chinensis Lamb. ex Paxton
Musa corniculata Kurz
Musa sapientum var. rio
Musa simiarum Kurz
Musa sinensis Sagot
Musa sinensis Sagot ex Baker

Musaceae

ກ້ວຍນ້ຳ / Kluai Nam Wa

This plant has green pseudostems (false stems) with black spots, growing about 4.8 metres tall. The leaf sheath and petiole (leaf stalk) have a waxy coating called pruinose. The petiole is around 80 cm long, with edges that are either upright or spreading, featuring thin, dry wings at the base.
The leaf blade is green on the upper side and oblong, measuring 1.9 to 2.3 metres long and 50 to 70 cm wide. Its base is heart-shaped and uneven, with the midvein appearing green on top and white-yellow underneath.
The flower cluster can bend backward and is supported by a stalk (peduncle) that is usually hairy. The bracts (leaf-like structures supporting the flowers) are bright red to dark violet, sometimes yellow at the tip. They are egg-shaped with a pointed end and contain about 20 male flowers in two rows. The outer parts of the flower (sepals) are white or cream with a lemon-yellow tip, measuring 3.5 to 4 cm long. The outer lobes have a hook-like, hairy tip. The inner sepals are less than half the length of the outer ones and have a notched tip with a short point.
The fruit cluster (infructescence) is about 1.2 metres long, with a stalk that can be up to 70 cm long and 4 cm wide, covered in white hair-like structures. The berries are curved, ranging from green to yellow-green, and are five-angled when young. As they ripen, they become cylindrical and measure about 9 cm long. Wild plants have many seeds, but cultivated versions often lack them. The seeds are brown, flattened, and measure 5 to 6 mm in diameter [4], [5].

Native to andaman Is., Bangladesh, Borneo, China, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam.
Source: [5]

North Laos Highlands
Northern Mekong Corridor
Vientiane Plain
Southern Mekong Corridor

Plantation forest
Evergreen forest
Riparian vegetation

Native

Not invasive

Least concern

N/A

Food
Medicine

As well as global exports banana and plantain fruits are traded nationally at local markets and used as a substance staple crop. Apart from the edible fruits banana cultivars have a variety of other uses including animal fodder, fibres, construction, horticulture and for medicine. However there is very little literature available on uses of this species. With a seeded inedible fruit it is suspected to have a limited use with most people using the cultivated varieties. this fruits raw or boiled. [8]

Both

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Threat: Across all these Hotspots clearance of forests for agriculture, logging and plantations is a serious threat. Across south east Asia the total forest area has decreased by 8% from 1990 to 2015.

Population: The current population trend is unknown. However, due to habitat loss in some parts of its range the population trend may be decreasing but further research is recommended.

N/A

N/A

Nutrient	/100g	Remark
Proteins	N/A	N/A
Carbohydrates	N/A	N/A
Fats	N/A	N/A
Vitamins	N/A	N/A
Minerals	N/A	N/A
Fibers	N/A	N/A

Cavendish banana tree. [1] iNaturalist [Online]. Uploaded on 29 January 2024 by: mvanleuken. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/348668636. [Accessed: 26 September 2024]
Flower of the Cavendish Banana plant. [2] iNaturalist [Online]. Uploaded on 3 February 2022 by: gkonings. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/106080593. [Accessed: 6 September 2024
Fruit of the Cavendish banana plant. [3] iNaturalist [Online]. Uploaded on 22 January 2024 by: pickin. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/408218058. [Accessed: 26 September 2024]

[4] World Flora Online, “Musa acuminata Colla,” [Online]. Available: https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000473834. [Accessed: 10 September 2024].
[5] Appendix 4: Wild Banana, “The Role of Wild Banana (Musa acuminata Colla) on Wildlife Diversity in Mixed Deciduous Forest, Kanchanaburi Province, Western Thailand”, [Online]. Available: file:///C:/Users/duang/Downloads/Appendix4_Wildbanana_KU2010.pdf. [Accessed: 10 September 2024].
[6] Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), “Musa acuminata Colla.” [Online]. Available: https://www.gbif.org/species/2762680. [Accessed: 26 September 2024]
[7] A New Species of [Musa acuminata Colla],”Flora of China”, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 440, [Online]. Available: http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/novon/novo-17-04-440.pdf. [Accessed: 10 September2024].
[8] IUCN Red List, "Species Information," 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22486320/22486950. [Accessed: Oct. 20, 2024].
479-1489.