Wild Musaceae species in China

Several investigations of Musaceae plants in southern China over the past 50 years, including extensive field trips conducted by the author in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Hainan between 2005 and 2007, have shown that most wild banana (Musa spp.) are located in areas where there is no agriculture: on mountain slopes as high as 2250 m and in nature reserves. In those areas, the climate varies substantially. At lower elevations, the climate is tropical to subtropical, suitable for year-round flowering. At higher elevations, especially in the northern parts of Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong, the climate generally restricts flowering to the period from July to September. In December and January, cold damage can occur to the leaves. The ecology of some of these species suggests that they possess characteristics which could be of interest to breeders. For example, a newly described species, Musa yunnanensis, is found in cold locations where it withstands sub-zero temperatures, a trait that could be used to breed for tolerance to cold. For other species, the interest may lie in their resistance to diseases. For example, another newly described taxon, Musa acuminate var. chinensis, is closely related to M. acuminate ssp. burmannicoides ‘Calcutta 4’, which has been extensively used in breeding because of its resistance to black leaf streak disease. These two newly described taxa have in common monoclinous hermaphroditic female flowers that self-pollinate before the bract opens. Consequently, no hybrid of these two taxa has ever been observed. The author also observed ten species that belong to the Musa section, one to the Callimusa section and four to the Rhodochlamys section, in addition to two species of the genus Ensete and one species of the genus Musella. Field evaluations are needed to identify the wild species that could be used in breeding programmes.