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O n t h e i d e n t i t y o fM u s a s p . ' Y u n n a n 'D R Constantine, Bridgwater, Somerset, U.K.In February 2000, Toby Spanner introducedseed of Musa sp. "Yunnan" into commerce withthe following announcement in his newsletter:Musa sp. "Yunnan" - Yunnan BananaThese seeds originally came in as the rare Ensetewilsonii, the Snow Banana; however, seed shapeand size suggest that the seeds are not Ensete butMusa sp. Our collector insists that the seeds werecollected at very high altitude in China's Yunnanprovince, where Ensete wilsonii usually grows upto 2700 m (9000 ft.). Even with its identity notcleared yet we think this could be a very interestingcold hardy species that would probably thriveunder the same conditions as the legendary Musabasjoo and M. sikkimensis.From the outset, "Yunnan" aroused particularinterest in horticulture because of its hoped forcold tolerance and its graceful, garden worthyhabit. Some were also intrigued by its enigmaticorigin.As part of a wider study, a Finnish Musaresearcher named Markku Häkkinen made acomparison in 2002 of seed and seedlings of"Yunnan" and a Vietnamese banana known asChuoi Rung Hoa Soan (CRHS). Markku foundthat in the physical characteristics of the seed andthe vegetative characteristics of the young plants,"Yunnan" and CHRS appeared to be identical.CHRS was first found in north west Vietnamby an INIBAP/VASI collecting mission in 1994.The plant was given the accession number VN1-054 and in an internal VASI report it was identifiedas Musa itinerans. The precise basis for theidentification is not clear but it seems to have beenmade because of the similar habit in the field ofCHRS and Musa itinerans (Chuoi Rung inVietnam). Musa itinerans is characterised by itsextremely long rhizomes so that suckers pop uptwo metres or more away from the parent stem.This characteristic astonished scientists at theImperial College of Tropical Agriculture inTrinidad who were the first to describe the species.The name of the species derives from this itineranthabit which was also reportedly seen in CRHS inthe field in Vietnam.Markku's work seemed to indicate that"Yunnan" and CRHS were one and the same.Markku discussed his work with Liu Aizhong, aspecialist in Chinese Musaceae, who confirmedthat Musa itinerans was rather common in Yunnan.It seemed, therefore, not to be very surprising thatthe seed collected in Yunnan and offered to Tobywas indeed Musa itinerans. Markku and Aizhong'sconclusion was the basis of Toby's note in hisMarch 2002 newsletter that "Yunnan" was Musaitinerans:With the help of some dedicated "Musophiles"in Finland and China, we were finally able toidentify the banana that we have been distributingas Musa sp. "Yunnan". It seems to be Musaitinerans, a species fairly widely distributed inChina, but as to our knowledge, still very rare incultivation.Doubts remained. The remarkable suckeringhabit of Musa itinerans had not been reported inplants of "Yunnan" in cultivation. Seedlingssuckered profusely, but always close to the parentstem; close even in comparison to other Musa16 Chamaerops No. 47