General Information

COMMON NAMES: Mountain Banana, Fe'i Banana, Mountain Plantain, Plantain; German Bananen TRADITIONAL NAMES: ‘Ūtū / ‘Uatu (RR), ‘Ūtū (MG), Vē‘ī (AT MK MT AK); Other Polynesian - Soa‘a (SAM) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Indonesia - Solomons - ?; EXOTIC Polynesian introduced Fiji - Marquesas (not Hawai‘i) COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Polynesian, Naturalised; Land, lowlands - mountains (+++) SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Locally endangeredFood (Fruit 1+), Medicine KEY FEATURES: Tree-like herb to 10m. TRUNK a pseudostem of clasping leaf-stalk sheaths, shiny black towards base, green towards top, sap dark purple; suckering at base. LEAVES terminal cluster, ascending, bright dark green, oblong, to 400x70cm, veins prominent and purple; stalk 50cm. FLOWERS on terminal erect stalk to 60cm with overlapping bracts; bracts outside green, inside cream. FRUIT straight to slightly curved, stout, to 20x7cm, skin tough; ripens skin orange to red-orange, flesh yellow; seeds absent to a few, black, 5mmØ; usually eaten cooked. GROWTH: 24 months sucker to flower, then 4 months to ripe fruit (28 months total).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present    Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+++	+	+	P	X	+	-		-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Musa troglodytarum Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Musa fehi [incl. TC/GW]; Musa uranoscopus [sensu]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); ZINGIBERIDAE; Zingiberales; MUSACEAE

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
BIODIVERSITY: Locally endangered. Comment: NBSAP - Takitumu (4 of 6 wild plants), NBSAP - Puaikura (2 of 3 domestic plants), NBSAP - Mauke (2 of 8 wild plants), NBSAP - Mitiaro (4 of 6 domestic plants)
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food (Fruit 1+), Medicine. Comments: Known to cause urinary colour change shortly after eating. Urine displays a bright yellow colour similar to that of the ripe flesh.

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.1466 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.250 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.762 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.470 Tropica
p.1/185 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.299 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.33 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.411c Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.52 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM04b, zD02

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