BULLETIN - Heliconia Society International

PAGE 2 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2008Alpinia purpurata Àlba’, the story of a snowblinkwhite “Red Ginger”Yodi Hermelijn, Para Flor, POB #8534, DistrictPara, Suriname S. A.Phone/fax (597) 352031, Mob. (597) 8514186(paraflor2@yahoo.com)(Most photos by Mrs. Lydia Hermelijn.)Some years ago our friend and fellow Heliconia-fanatic,returning from a trip abroad, surprised uswith a small Alpinia plant. He told us quite selfconfidentlyand enthusiastically that, “This wassomething we’d never seen before, despite our manyyears of collecting and cultivating heliconias and relatedplants!” He said that after he had glimpsed theplant flowering somewhere nearby the airport, hedecided not to rest before making sure to return homewith some plantlets of this extremely beautiful “SnowWhite” with him. His excitement regarded a gingerlily, in every aspect similar to Alpinia purpurata,however, this one was “pure and snowblink white”.It is obvious that we were very pleased andproud with our newest gain, and we were even moreanxious to see it blooming, the sooner the better.Likewise we decided to make as many plants as possible,so we constantly split the clumps in order tomake more plants. After months of special care andlots of time spent on the plants we had more thantwenty full 4-gallon containers with this “extremelyexclusive new exotic.”Then suddenly our friend called. Hesounded very mad and disappointed, so we knewthat something bad had happened. Unlike us, hehad planted his plantlets in full ground and hehad not divided them ever. Naturally his plantsdeveloped faster and they came into budding earlierthan ours. To be sure, he invited us to dropby, because the bud he saw seemed to be red,just like a common red ginger. Indeed, there wasnot even a glance of pink, and by no means anywhite at all!Only then he told us that nowhere on theisland the particular plant had been for sale, sohe approached a garden-aide of the hotel andtalked him into earning some extra money bybringing him some plantlets of the white Alpinia,shortly before checking out for departure. Thegarden-aide “kept” his part of the deal, wellaware of the fact that it was quite impossible todistinguish “white” from “red” or pink” in theearly stage. Thus he supplied the rhizomes, andgot paid off very well. Our friend, however,(what a disaster), had simply been swindled andhe learned his lesson once and forever. And we,even more disappointed, just planted our newgains nearby the other red ones.Some months later, a foreign florist participatedin a floral arts competition in Suriname.She brought some material from home with herand yes, all of a sudden, there it was! In one ofher very decorative flower arrangements the eye-The Purpose of HSIThe purpose of HSI is to increase the enjoyment andunderstanding of Heliconia (Heliconiaceae) and related plants(members of the Cannaceae, Costaceae, Lowiaceae,Marantaceae, Musaceae, Strelitziaceae, and Zingiberaceae) ofthe order Zingerberales through education, research andcommunication. Interest in Zingiberales and information on thecultivation and botany of these plants is rapidly increasing. HSIwill centralize this information and distribute it to members.The HELICONIA SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL, anonprofit corporation, was formed in 1985 because of rapidlydeveloping interest around the world in these exotic plants andtheir close relatives. We are composed of dues-payingmembers. Our officers and all participants are volunteers.Everyone is welcome to join and participate. HSI conducts aBiennial Meeting and International Conference.Membership dues are (in $US): Individual, $35; Family,$40; Student, $10; Contributing, $50; Corporate (Company orInstitution), $100; Sustaining, $500; Libraries, $25.Membership fees constitute annual dues from 1 July through 30June. All members receive the BULLETIN (usually publishedquarterly), the Membership Directory, and specialannouncements. Please send all inquiries regardingmembership or Bulletin purchases to: Ray Baker, Lyon Arboretum,3860 Manoa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, Phone (808) 988-0455, Fax (808) 988-0462, raymondb@hawaii.edu. Back issuesof the Bulletin are $5.00 per issue.HSI Officers for 2007-2008President, Anders J. Lindstrom; Vice-presidents forMembership, Carla Black and Jan Hintze; Secretary, BruceDunstan; Treasurer, David Lorence; Editors, Ray Baker andVictor Lee; Cultivar Registrar, Bryan Brunner. Board ofDirectors: Sandra Barnes, Mike Bordelon, Alan W. Carle, GilDaniels, Mark Friedrich, Halijah Ibrahim, Raymond Jerome,Helen Kennedy, W. John Kress, David Orr, Chelsea Specht,and Kyle Williams.The HSI BULLETIN is the quarterly publication of theHELICONIA SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL. Editors: RaymondF. Baker, c/o Lyon Arboretum, 3860 Manoa Road,Honolulu, HI 96822 USA, 808-988-0455, 808-988-0462(FAX), raymondb@hawaii.edu and Victor Lee, 55 Jalan Kemuning,Singapore 769777, leevic@starhub.net.sg, 65-67598208, 65-67571231 (FAX).

THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2008 PAGE 3catcher was nothing but the pure-white ginger lily.She brought only a few immature flowers and noplants with her, so she gave us some leads to thesource.Not too long after this our sister, also infectedby us with the heliconia fever, visited the particularregion. In the meantime we had done some investigationsand she was given instructions where to look forthe plant. She did find a grower, but he was not yetready to sell plant material. He preferred to expandhis plantings first. He told her to come back “next”year.A year later she visited the region again, andafter some tough negotiations she succeeded to gethold of, and surprise us with, some tiny looking smallplantlets. This time we surprised our friend with aplant, 100% convinced that nothing could go wrong.These would undoubtedly be the so intensely desired“Snow White”. However, what a shame, the storyjust repeated! After a few months, some yellow andlight green shades and stripes appeared on the leavesand by the time the plants were mature they turnedout to be variegated Alpinia oceanica (Figs. 1 & 2).white” and the plant is exactly like the other Alpiniaspecies (Figs. 3 & 4). Of course we gave our friendanother plant and at this moment we are making asmany plants as we can. We are also seriously lookingfor a partnership, e.g. with a tissue culture companyor a large grower, for faster propagation in orderto deal with the demand we expect. If interested,please feel free to contact us.Above: Fig. 3 Alpiniapurpurata Àlba’.Right: Fig. 4Various colors ofAlpinia purpurata.Conference 2008 in Iquitos, PeruCall for papersRight: Fig. 1 Alpinia oceanica at Para Flor.Left: Fig. 2 Older inflorescence at Lyon Arboretum. (PhotoR. Baker.)Still the plant is quite decorative when used for landscapingand the “flowers”, when harvested in time,are still useful.Anyway, to make a long story short, all iswell that ends well, because about a year ago we finallysucceeded in getting hold of the plant thathaunted us for so many years. The inflorescence, asone can see, is unquestionably “pure and snowblinkPersons wishing to present papers orposters at the 15th Heliconia SocietyInternational Conference in Iquitos,Peru, 22-27 June 2008, should submittheir topic to David Lorence(dlorence@ntbg.org) or Carla Black(carla@volcanbaru.com) as soon as possible,with an abstract (at least 100words) of the talk by 31 March 2008.Topics to be covered should relate to anyof the 8 families of the Zingiberales, and can include systematics,floriculture, propagation, plant pathology,travel/exploration, art, ethnobotany,ecology, or any other pertinentarea of research. Presentations are to bein English or Spanish, and should be 30minutes long. Visual aids at the conferencesite will include 35 mm slide andPowerPoint projectors. Printed handoutswill be the responsibility of the speaker.Following the conference a manuscriptsuitable for publication in the HSI Bulletinwill be appreciated.

PAGE 4 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2008PanamaRaymond Jerome, P. O. Box 3925, Carolina,Puerto Rico 00984-3295(raymondjerome@prtc.net)Carla Black and Angel Rodriguez invited meand my wife, Migdalia, and Sergio and Nancy Tejedorto visit their home and farm in the foothills of theactive (but resting) volcano, Volcán Barú, in westernPanama. We flew into Panama City in the eveningFig. 1 Volcan Baru from Carla’s back porch.and the next day we visited Panama City’s huge andimpressive Parque Natural Metropolitano. In the parkwe saw many heliconias, but none were in bloom.We suspected that most of them were H. latispatha,but were not sure of their identification. From thepark, we drove to see the Panama Canal. On the waywe passed extensive wild stands of beautiful H.platystachys, which were quite different from andmuch more spectacularthan the variety thatwe are growing inPuerto Rico. The budtips of the Panamanianinflorescenses werealmost pure lemon yellow,and the bractswere longer and hadmuch more lemon yellowon their tips. Thesides of bracts of thePanamanian ones werereddish-orange ratherthan the blood red ofthe ones we see inFig. 2 PanamanianH. platystachys.Puerto Rico. Pictured is a photo of these H.platystachys in a bouquet at a beautiful Panamanianresort (Fig. 2).The following day, at Carla’s suggestion, wespent the night in El Valle, a small, high altitudetown situated in a huge crater of an extinct volcano(Fig. 3). The crater ridges surrounding the townrose to quite highaltitudes and werecovered with tropicalrain forest. Carlatold us we should seethe local market in ElValle, since onweekends the localresidents frequentlybrought to the marketcomplete localheliconia plants forsale as well as havingnumerous cutFig. 3 El Valle. heliconia inflorescenses.To our pleasantsurprise, the next morning when we visited themarket we found three heliconia rhizomes withstems, leaves, and inflorescensesthat we hadnever seen before. Onewas an all lemon-yellowH. irrasa, one was asolid red H. irrasa (Fig.4), and one was an unknownsmall uprightvivid pink inflorescense(Fig. 5), not a psittacorum,that none of us,including Carla hadever seen before or hadFig. 5 Unknown pinkheliconia.Fig. 4 H. irrasa.any idea what it might be.We bought all three ofthese rhizomes (for $1.00U.S. each) and gave themto Carla to plant on herfarm. At the market wealso saw some cut flowersof H. lennartiana, H. tortuosa,H. ramonensis var.xanthotricha, and some inflorescensesthat we did notrecognize.When we arrived at Carlaand Angel’s home, we were

THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2008 PAGE 5visually treated to a wonderland of heliconias. Mostof their collection is Panamanian and Costa Ricanheliconias, but they also have numerous heliconiasfrom other locations. Some of the more interestingand beautiful heliconias that we saw on our trip areshown below.One day while in Panama, we drove withCarla across the border into Costa Rica and visitedWilson Botanical Garden, which is one of HSI’sZingiberales conservation centers. We were a littledisappointed with what we saw for Carla and Angelhave more varieties of heliconias than did WilsonGarden. Another fabulous visit was to Finca Draculaorchid farm in Cerro Punta, Panama, which is not farfrom Carla and Angel’s home and is about halfway upthe outer crater wall of Volcán Barú. The variety offlowers seen growing at this cool and moist high altitudelocation was like an artist’s palette of brilliantcolors. Brugmansias of varying colors were growingeverywhere as small trees and most were laden withblooms. The grounds of Finca Dracula were beautifullylandscaped and were a real botanical prize (Fig.6). It was there that we saw the H. sp. `Rojona’, andred (native to the area) and yellow (introduced) varietiesof H. lankesteri growing. It was also there thatwe saw the H. burleana as well as probably one of theworld’s finest collections of high altitude orchids andrare begonias.Fig. 6 Pond & falls at Finca Dracula.From Panama, we then flew into fabulousCosta Rica, but that is material for another articleand a place to seriously consider for hosting a futureHSI Conference.7. H. pogonanthavar. veraguasensis8. H. pogonanthavar. pogonantha(more yellow than most)9. H. `Bushmaster’ (H. mariae xH. pogonantha var. holerythra) 10. H. stilesii11. H. ramonensisvar. xanthotricha12. H. magnifica,with Sergio and Carla13. H. necrobracteata14. H. laxa15. H. maculata(note speckled stems)

PAGE 6 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 200816. H. irrasa(giant red & yellow)17. H. `Yellow Twister’(a form of H. nutans)18. H. atropurpurea(notice two colors)19. H. bella20. H. tortuosa 21. H. ignescens22. H. sp.`Rojona’23. H. venusta 24. H. bihai Àbalo Brown’,with Sergio(All photos by author exceptFigs. 11 & 27, which arefrom Carla Black.)25. H. librata 26. H. burleanaCorrections to HSI Bulletin 13(3/4), October 2007:Fig. 27 Author Ray Jeromeat work.Corrections: Dr. Halijah Ibrahim (University of Malaysia professorand member of the HSI Board of Directors) and Mr. JohnMood (formerly on HSI Board), noted several caption errors inthe previous articles on the gingers of Sarawak in the HSI Bulletin13(1/2), 13(3/4) , which are corrected below. We thank themfor bringing these errors to our attention, since our main goal isproviding correct information to our readers. If anyone elsenotices an error in any of the bulletins please let the editorsknow immediately.Corrections to HSI Bulletin 13(1/2), November 2006:Fig. 2b Alpiniaaquatica,not A. galanga.Fig. 3b Alpiniamutica,not A. hansenii.Fig. 2c Alpinialigulata,not A. aquatica.Fig. 3c Zingiberlatifolium, (was formerlyZ. acuminatumvar. borneense).Fig. 2d “Alpinia sp.”is A. capitellata.Fig. 3d probably notZingiber griffithii,which is from PeninsularMalaysia.Fig. 2a Etlingera foetens,not E. triorgyalis which isfrom Peninsular Malaysia.Fig. 2e Etlingera burtiior E. fimbriobracteata,not E. brachychila.Also, in Fig. 2c “pink form” can be added to the caption, and inFig. 2d “brachyla” should be “brachychila”.Fig. 4b probablyZingiber coloratum“silver leaf form”,not Z. argenteum.Fig. 4d a form ofZingiber zerumbet?,not Z. officinale.Fig. 5b Zingiberofficinale (possiblyvar. rubrum),not Z. montanum.

THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2008 PAGE 7The Gingers of Sarawak III – The MiniaturesPeter Boyce, Senior Botanist, MalesianaTropicals, Suite 9-04, Tun Jugah Tower, No.18, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, 93100K u c h i n g , S a r a w a k , M a l a y s i ab o t a n i s t @ m a l e s i a n a . c o m ,In this, the final part of this series on the gingersof Sarawak, I will focus on the genera that comprisefor the main part small to miniature species.There are eight genera in Sarawak that can be whollyor partially considered as involving miniature species:Boesenbergia, Burbidgea, Camptandra, Elettariopsis,Globba, Haplochorema, Scaphochlamys and Tamijia.All are small genera with fewer than 30 describedspecies in Sarawak although evidence is now accumulatingthat there are numerous yet to be described species,notably in Boesenbergia and Scaphochlamys.Perhaps the best known of the smaller gingersin Sarawak is Globba, a genus that has become wellknown through the introduction of the Thai G. winitiiinto commercial cultivation. There are eight Globbaspecies in Sarawak and when in flower the genus isimmediately distinguishable by the long stamen archingfrom the middle ofthe flower. The mostwidespread and also mostvariable species is G.atrosanguinea (Fig. 1a)Fig. 1b Globbabrachyanthera.with its striking red toorange or more rarely yellow-bractedinflorescencesand red to orange flowers.The white flowered G. brachyanthera(Fig. 1b) is also widespreadin Sarawak and variable in thedegree of leaf hairiness. The congesteddeepy e l l o wflowers ofG. propinqua(Fig.1c) are diag n o s t i c .An interestingfeatureof Globbais that many species produceadventitious bulbils on the inflorescences(Fig. 1d). These bul-Fig. 1a Globba atrosanguinea.Fig. 1c Globbapropinqua.bils frequentlydevelop to theextent of producingrootsa n d l e a f yshoots whileFig. 1d Globba propinqua bulbils. still attachedto the motherplant and only later fall or come into contact withthe ground as the inflorescence senesces.The alliance of Boesenbergia, Scaphochlamysand the Bornean endemic genus Haplochoremais currently regarded as comprising c. 30 species inBorneo, although fieldwork indicates that there area considerable number of novelties awaiting description,notably in Scaphochlamys, a genus presentlyregarded as being more speciose in West Malaysiabut which probably has its centre of diversityin Borneo. Horticulturally, Boesenbergia is the mostimportant Bornean genus of this alliance (whichalso includes Kaempferia and Curcuma, generagrown in Sarawak as spices but which are not native),and in particular is striking for the remarkablediversity in flowers and particularly leaves. Indeed,it could be arguedthat as foliage plantsBoesenbergia is preeminentin the gingerfamily although at themoment there are fewspecies in cultivationother than in specialistcollections. Theremarkable blisteredleaves of B. hutchin-Fig. 2a Boesenbergiahutchinsoniana.Fig. 2b Boesenbergiacordata.soniana (Fig. 2a) resembletable-tennis bats made of thinbeaten metal and in the wild,where plants occur in deeplitter-filled holes in forestedlimestone, form a strikingcontrast against the palerocks. The attractive B. cordata(Fig. 2b), is anotherlimestone-restricted species,with leathery leaves in seagreenoverlaid with pale

PAGE 8 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2005 2008green banding and overall with a beautiful velvetysheen. The central part of Sarawak, notably the hillsand mountains of the Rejang River basin, is a treasurehouse of superb Boesenbergia species, many of whichas yet appear not to have been given scientific names;(Figs. 2c & 2d) are examples of such species.Fig. 2c Boesenbergia sp.Boesenbergia, clockwise from upper left: Figs. 3a B. pulchella,3b B. oligosperma, 3c B. orbiculata, 3d B. sp.Fig. 2d Boesenbergia sp.Aside from remarkable foliage diversity, Boesenbergiaalso displays considerable variation inflower shape and colour. Boesenbergia pulchella(Fig. 3a), B. oligosperma (Fig. 3b), B. orbiculata (Fig.3c) and an as yet undescribed species from the limestoneof South Western Sarawak (Fig. 3d) are a representativeselection of flower types in Boesenbergiaand suggest a genus that has probably developed avariety of pollination syndromes in response to localizedevolution; certainly many species of Boesenbergiaare found in highly restricted localities and manyappear to be specific to particular geologies, notablylimestone and shale.By way of contrast, Scaphochlamys displays,in Sarawak at least, very little floral variety – indeedthe flowers of most species are not at all diagnostic –whereas the Scaphochlamys species do show a remarkablerange of leaf shape and colouration. Perhapsthe main problem in Sarawak with regard to Scaphochlamysis that the overwhelming majority of speciesappear to be as yet undescribed. Exceptionsinclude the superb ladder-veined S. reticosa (Fig.4a) and S. polyphylla (Fig. 4b) with its Curcuma--like inflorescence bracts. Among the slew of undescribedspecies there are some very beautiful foliageplants including those depicted in Figs. 4c & 4d thatoriginate from southern and central Sarawak respectively.Scaphochlamys, clockwise from upper left: Figs. 4a S. reticosa,4b S. polyphylla, 4c S. sp., 4d S. sp.

THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2008 2005 PAGE 99With four species in Sarawak, Haplochoremais probably most closely allied to Boesenbergia althoughit is readily distinguished by the flat whiteflowers which imply a different pollination syndromethan the gullet-shaped flowers on most Boesenbergia.In the wild Haplochorema tend not to be widespread,although where species are encountered plants areabundant. Haplochoremapauciflorum(Fig. 5a) withthinly but stifftexturedsatin leavesFig. 5a Haplochoremapauciflorum.Fig. 6b Elettariopsis sp.Fig. 6a Burbidgea pauciflora.Fig. 5b Haplochoremamagnum.occurs sporadically onsandstones through centralSarawak while thefleshy emerald greenleavedH. magnum (Fig. 5b) appears to be restrictedto shales in northern central Sarawak. Neither areeasy plants to maintain in cultivation.Burbidgea is a small genus of obligate epiphytes.Flowers tend to be large and in Borneo aremostly orange or yellow andare probably adapted to butterflypollination. Burbidgeais a genus that requires amodern revision but, beingplants of the canopy, they arenot easy to study and most ofour knowledge is gleanedfrom collections made ofplants that have fallen fromthe canopy. Burbidgea pauciflora(Fig. 6a) is typical ofthis genus. The seed capsulesare long and slender and opento shed wind-dispersed seeds.Elettariopsis in Sarawak is currently consideredto comprise only two species although, based onfield observations, it seems that more species are presentand that at least some of these are undescribed.One reason why there may be a number of overlookedspecies is that the inflorescences of Elettariopsis areoften hidden down among the leaf litter at the base ofthe leaves and also the plants resemble seedlings ofother larger gingers and many times are probably ignoredby fieldworkers. The species depicted in Fig.Tamijia flagellaris. Left to right: Figs. 6c, 6d, 6e.6b has flowers resemblingE. kerybi although theplant habit and leaves donot accord with the publisheddescription; it ismost probably undescribed.Tamijia is a remarkablegenus describedonly recently and withcurrently one species, T.flagellaris (Figs. 6c & 6d),although recent fieldworksuggests that there may betwo species, one as yet tobe formally named. Tamijiaplants are tufted herbs with the leaves arisingdirectly from the ground and not on erect leafshoots; in this respect Tamijia resembles Elettariopsisbut differs in carrying the small whiteflowers on greatly elongated wiry inflorescences inthe same manner as most Elettaria (see Gingers ofSarawak II). Perhaps the most striking characteristicis that the inflorescences can arise laterally to theleafy shoot or terminally from the shoot; occasionallyboth states occurring in association with thesame shoot (Fig. 6e). Tamijia is endemic to Borneo.Camptandra is a small genus with only onespecies recorded in Sarawak (C. parvula – Fig. 7a).It is the least horticulturallyattractive speciesalthough thegreen boat-shapedbract subtending thetiny white flowers ismost distinctive. InSarawak Camptandrais restricted to large Fig. 7a Camptandra parvula.sandstone boulders inrather dry forest.

PAGE 10 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY / 2008 2005This brief series of articles cannot hope to doanything except whet the appetite for the gingers ofSarawak; I hope that those who have read the seriesfeel inspired to try their hand at cultivating and studyingthese remarkable and beautiful plants.(Re-published with permission from Heliconia Society of PuertoRico Newsletter 11(3), September 2006.)A Three-stamened Form of ZingiberzerumbetRaymond F. Baker, Lyon Arboretum, Universityof Hawaiì, 3860 M!noa Road, Honolulu, Hawaii,USA 96822 (raymondb@hawaii.edu)The Lyon Arboretum, botanic garden of theUniversity of Hawaiì, in recent years has built up asignificant collection of gingers (Zingiberaceae) andspiral gingers (Costaceae), thanks to many friendsand contributors. (A future article will report on thestatus of this collection.) As the person who had tokeep track of these plants I began to feel overwhelmed.I started to take pictures of them to keepthem straight in my mind and tried to get as manyaspects of the plant as possible: habit, leaves, ligule,inflorescence, bracts, the flower in various views, theinterior of the flower (stamens, stigma, etc.), the fruit,and sometimes the seeds. These photos are availableon our website, www.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum, under“Plants at Lyon”.I learned a lot about gingers by doing this,and one of the best lessons was that you had to payattention to their time schedule. Most gingers bloomfor only a short time, and if you miss them you haveto wait until the next year. I also found that somegenera were very uniform in some aspect of theflower, so it hardly seemed worthwhile photographingthose relatively constant characters. One suchgenus was Zingiber, which has at least 150 species,and is variable in its leaf, ligule, and flower, but thestamen is rather boring, shaped like a rhinoceroshorn, with a little variation in size and color, butthat’s about it. I was tempted to save time by notbothering to photograph the stamen, but my compulsivenature overcame me and I dutifully photographedthem all. I’m glad I did.We have 13 accessions of Zingiber zerumbetRosc. ex Sm., representing at least 6 different types(Fig. 1). I don’t have photos of the stamens of all ofthem, but of those I do, all but one have the same oldboring single rhinoceros horn. The one that differs isthe form brought to the Hawaiian Islands by thePolynesians, known as àwapuhi kuahiwi, or“shampoo ginger”. In the Lyon Arboretum we havelarge populations of this ginger, which goes dormantin November-December and re-emerges inApril. In this form, in addition to the normal rhinoceroshorn stamen with functional style included,it has TWO LATERAL STAMINAL HORNSwhich both lack a style (Figs. 2 & 3). All the partsof the flower seem to be accounted for, although thelabellum (lip), which is usually composed of threestaminodes with two other staminodes fused to itlaterally forming lobes on the side of the lip, is unusuallysmall.This unusual condition poses several interestingquestions beyond those of flower development,which may interest experts in that field. Perhapsthe readers of this bulletin can look aroundtheir neighborhoods and provide some of the answers.Question 1: I have only sampled plants inthe Lyon Arboretum, in Upper M!noa Valley behindHonolulu. This summer, when the plantsflower again in other parts of the Hawaiian Islands,maybe some of our local readers can answer: is thisphenomenon present elsewhere in Hawaiì?Questions 2 & 3: If this character is foundthroughout Hawaiì, can its origin be traced backalong the route the Polynesians took to get here:Tahiti, the Marquesas, and to other islands likeTonga, the Cook Islands, and Samoa. If this anomalyoccurs on these islands, can we trace it back furtherto a source in Southeast Asia? A check of herbariawhich contain vouchers of Z. zerumbet mayspeed up the process.This may be no more than a “freak of nature”,or it may be one more clue tracing the peoplingof the Pacific. If any of you find out anythingof significance, please let me know at raymondb@hawaii.edu,and together we may figureout this minor mystery.Fig. 1 Flowers of several accessions of Z. zerumbet, showingthe normal condition of one stamen.

PAGE THE BULLETIN 12 / JANUARY 2008 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2005 11DorsalviewSideviewVentralviewAbove: size variationin this form.Above: 3 views of the flower.Above: going dormant,8 Dec 2002.Fig. 2 This is the formintroduced by thePolynesians. Notice theextra 2 stamens flankingthe main stamen andstigma (right).Central stamen withstigma, 3 views.Ligule____________________________________________________________________________________________Fig. 3 Details of the dissected flower.ReducedlabellumStigmaExtrastamensCentral stamenLateralstaminodes

THE PAGE BULLETIN 12 / JANUARY 2005 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2008 13Ultimate Container GrowingBananas Indoors in Northern ClimatesMarkku Häkkinen, Tornatorintie 11 A 26, 48100Kotka, Finland(markku.hakkinen@kymp.net )Reprinted in part, with permission, from Fruit Gardener(California Rare Fruit Growers), March & April 2006: 18-23,26. The rest of the original article, dealing with pollination andpropagation, will appear in a later issue of the HSI Bulletin.Fig. 1 Banana plants inbloom on a frigid winterday? Well, seeing is believing.This scene outsidethe window of theauthor’s apartment overlookingthe icy harborof Kotka, is a classicexample of the benefitsof container growing.Nearly three decadesago Markku one daypurchased a Musa plantof unknown provenanceat a local market. Todayhe is an avid researcherof Musa species.The aim of this article is to tell the readershow I developed my interest in growing bananas. It isalso intended to provide insights on how to successfullygrow bananas indoors in northern climates,based on my 27 years of experience.In 1978 I saw for the first time growing herein Kotka, Finland, a tropical herbaceous perennial: abanana plant being used as a green decoration in asmall local flower store. The sales lady there was astonishedthat I was able to recognize it as a banana. Itwas some 25 cm (10 inches) high and was not labeledsince she was not trying to sell it. Of course, I hadseen bananas many times earlier during trips to thetropics, but never in Finland. This small cultivar,quite likely imported from Holland, was referred to asa Dwarf Chinese.Fig. 2 Dwarf Chinese cultivar, syn. Dwarf Cavendish.Left: in author’s apartment; right and lower: Tenerife, CanaryIsland. Lower photo shows fruits from a small cultivar, awater sucker of a Dwarf Chinese cultivar in a containerof water for rooting, and the same plant as a souvenir,prepared for micropropagation.From One Dwarf Plant Grew an AbsorbingAvocationThat small decorative plant, which I bought,started my current career as banana researcher, andhas to date resulted in 15 scientific papers, and 12other articles on bananas. Since then I have grownhundreds of banana cultivars and wild species, andmost of them have also flowered here in my home 6degrees (420 miles) below the Arctic Circle (Latitude60.5° north). In 2000, I moved the main part of mycollection to the University of Helsinki Botanic Garden,where I work as a researcher on bananas. Thebanana collection is maintained there in greenhousesas a research collection, which is not open tothe public.For ten years after my 1978 purchase, I grewmy first banana cultivar indoors. It grew to a heightof 150–170 cm (5 to 5½ feet) and flowered everythird year. It always formed small bunches, averagingsome 5 to 8 hands, with some 10 edible tastyfruits per hand. The plant suckered nicely, so soon Ihad many plantlets and new plants in my home,with extra ones to give to my friends. At that time Idid not know that one has to leave one or moresuckers for the next generation, so I removed themall and grew them in separate pots. This caused thelonger intervals for fruiting.My banana hobby continued with those DwarfChinese (actually Dwarf Cavendish) cultivars and myother tropical plants until 1988 when I traveled toBangkok, Thailand. There, in the Chatuchak weekendmarket, I saw offered for sale many different bananacultivars and some wild seeded ornamental species.After purchasing a good stock of cultivars and species,I really started to study them. Also, I needed room forthe new stock, so it was time to say goodbye to my oldDwarf Chinese cultivars. I donated all of them to myfriends. However, none of them flowered anymore intheir new locations, and they all eventually died. Duringten expeditions to Southeast Asia and several additionaltrips to various botanical gardens all over the

PAGE THE BULLETIN 14 / JANUARY 2008 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2005 13world, I have managed to amass agood collection of cultivars andwild species of bananas for mystudy purposes.Growing Conditions IndoorsWhen one is growing plants indoors, the mostimportant factor is the availability of light. In Finland,as we are located innortherly latitudes, wehave long days insummer and, contrarily,short days in winter.In my presentKotka apartment Ihave west- and northfacingwindows, as Ialso had in my previousapartment. Thismeans that during acouple of months atmidsummer my plantscan have direct sunshinethrough northfacingwindows onlya few hours, and a bitFig. 3 Ornamental wild species ofMusa flowers used for hotel roomdecoration in Bangkok, Thailand.These are flowers that were removedfrom my purchased plants because Ihad to purchase entire plants andremove the flowers and foliage inorder to obtain the suckers.Fig. 3 Musa campestris under light.more through west-facing windows. So I compensatefor the light deficit with one 40-watt fluorescent tubelight above every window. This is the same type oflighting that I use elsewhere in my home. I keep thelights on from mid-September until mid-March, 14hours every day, regulated by timers. This extra lightingprevents the bananas from going dormant in thewinter. They will remain in a semi-dormant state andgrow slowly. However, dormancy does not kill thebananas. Without extra lighting they would simply gofully dormant and stop growing in October and wakeup in February. For the remainder of the year, the supplementallighting is not necessary.I have central heating in my apartment, whichmaintains a steady 23C (73.4F) temperature indoorsduring the heating season from September to May.Heating reduces room humidity, which is offset by theevaporating moisture from the banana leaves and, to amuch smaller extent, from a small container filledwith water near each plant, on top of the radiator. Thishelps maintain the humidity around 50% during theheating season. Conversely, in summer time the roomtemperature is up to 27C (80.6F) and the humidityis much higher, up to 80% due to the outside summerclimate. I use no extra ventilation inside, onlythe apartment’s own normal ventilation.Other Basic RequirementsThe other basic requirementsfor growingbananas are growing media,pots, watering and fertilizing.The next most importantfactor is the potsize. I avoid planting in toobig a pot, which wouldonly cause rotting of theroots and corm because thesoil becomes waterloggedeasily. If I start growingmy bananas from seeds, Iinitially use 5 cm (2 inch)diameter pots and incrementallychange to largerpot sizes whenever the bananais growing, regardlessof the time of the year. Usingminimum pot sizes causes dwarfing of the plantsand the stress also forces them to flower earlier. Inever use pots larger than 35 cm (14 inches) in diameter.Second, I use the self-irrigating plastic pots,which have space for water in the bottom, and atube for watering, with a water measuring stick.With this method, irrigation is very easy and can bemeasured from the stick. During winter the plantsneed watering on the average of once a week, and inthe summer much more often. One has to rememberthat keeping the plant in dormancy without extralights means that the watering intervals are muchlonger. You just keep the soil slightly moist in orderto prevent the roots from drying up.I use normal mixed growing media, with apH around 5.5 to 6, for indoor plants, purchasedfrom supermarkets. I mix the media with burnedclay balls, 6–8 mm( 1 / 4 " to 1 / 3 ") in di-Fig. 5 Musa beccarii var. hottanaclumping habit—note the clay balls.Fig. 4 Various Musa seedlingswith Kotka Harbor inbackground.ameter, composingsome 15% of thetotal mixture to keepthe soil welldrained. However,our tap water has apH of 7 so the growing-mediapH alsobecomes neutral veryquickly. Because ofthis well-regulated irrigation method, the soil staysevenly moist at all times; this prevents the excessmoisture from being taken up by the plant and thenexuded from the leaves onto the floor. Certain cultivarsand species will nevertheless exude and drop

PAGE 14 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2008 2005moisture after a bright sunny summer day, but becauseof the steady moisture regime provided this isnot a common occurrence. When it does happen, thefloor must be protected with some newspaper or plastic.Bananas require heavy fertilization during thegrowing season and in the semi-dormant state as well.At each watering, I apply whatever fertilizer I have onhand, but I especially try to use one high in nitrogenduring the growth stage and one high in potassiumduring the fruiting stage. I use 2 to 3 times the recommendedamounts of fertilizer throughout the growingseason and a bit less in midwinter.Suitable Plants for IndoorsThe most suitable and ornamental bananas forhome decoration are the dwarfs with erect flowers inthe sections Callimusa and Rhodochlamys. These specieshave, on average, stem heights ranging between0.5 m (20") and a maximum of 1.5 m (5'). They alsohave highly ornamental flowers. Here in my home Ihave successfully grown the following Callimusa species:M. beccarii, M. beccarii var. hottana, M.campestris (several varieties), M. coccinea, M.gracilis (red and white form), M. hirta, M. johnsii, M.lutea, M. monticola and M. viridis. I have flowered allof these species several times, except the last four.Several dwarf cultivars are suitable for indoor culture,and produce edible fruits without any pollination(parthenocarpy). These cultivars are much more robustthan the wild ornamental species, and flower atan average stem height of some 1.5 m (5'). They needa 35 cm (14") pot. At home, I have grown and fruitedthe following cultivars: Dwarf Chinese (DwarfCavendish), Dwarf Rajapuri, Dwarf Kluai Namwa(also Klue Nam Wa), Dwarf Prata Ana, and DwarfOrinoco. I have tried Nowak, also called Super DwarfCavendish, and some others but I have not managedto flower them indoors. In my opinion these cultivarsare easier to grow indoors, but they need a lot of fertilizer.Of course, the fruit bunches produced aresmaller than theywould be if grownoutdoors, butthese plants alsohave considerableesthetic value.A n o t h e rpossibility, if onewishes to try a larger-sizedvarietyindoors, is to let theplant grow some1.5 m (5') high andthen cut the stemabout 10 cm (4")above the soillevel. The plantwill then continuegrowing from themeristem of the Fig. 6 Musa ornata with offshoots.mother plant and will flower at a much shorter stemheight. I have also tried to grow Ensete, one genus ofMusaceae, from seeds indoors, but this is a very diceyproposition; the plant produces only very slender, abnormalgrowth. The other genus of Musaceae isMusella, which can be grown easily indoors, but Ihave not tried it.Pests and DiseasesThe main pest problem with indoor bananasis spider mites. Here they are normally present inthe fall, when central heating begins. There are severalmeans to avoid severe infestation. The mainthing is to check frequently the undersides of theleaves. I normally check for the mites using a smallmagnifier. The white eggs can be easily seen asgroups and of course the hatched mites are visibleas well. If the population increases, the infestedleaves will begin to yellow. Even at this stage, theinfestation is not severe but after 2 to 3 weeks theywill have spread all over the plant. If the plant orsoil was infestedearlier,there will alwaysbe a fewfemale spidermites dormantin the soil,waiting forsuitable conditionsto becomeactiveand multiply.It is very easyto make conditionsless favorablefor theFig. 7 Musa Dwarf Chinese (left) and Rajapuricultivars.mites. Onee f f e c t i v emethod is tomist the leaveswith a veryfine spray ofwater severaltimes weekly.I use a different method: Near each plant or groupof plants I keep a small open-topped container filledwith water on top of the radiator during the heatingseason. This evaporates more moisture near theplant and creates conditions unsuitable to the mites.However, after noticing eggs or a small populationof mites, I also spray all my bananas and the otherplants with insect soap or neem oil. This is becausethe pests will have normally already spread to theother plants too, even if there are only small numbersof them. I renew the spraying after 10 to 12days in order to prevent new hatches. With this

PAGE THE BULLETIN 14 / JANUARY 2008 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2005 15method I usually have mites on my plants only inthe fall. The other nuisance flying insects are theharmless fungus gnats. They grow easily in constantlymoist soil but can be eradicated with aspecial permetrin pesticide by spraying it on topof the soil. All of these pesticides can be usedsafely indoors.Normally there are no banana diseasesthat occur in indoor banana plants.Culture TipsHere are a few final tips: After fruiting, thestem should be cut, because it will not produce anymore.Also the dead lower leaves should be cut off.I never bring my plants outdoors during the summerbecause they are not used to the sun, and the leaveswill suffer immediate sunscald. Conversely, bringinga plant inside from outdoors for the winter isoutdoor climate and indoors it will shrivel. In this lattercase it is better to store the corm in a cellar or basementand then replant it outdoors in the spring. I neverclean the leaves because they are so brittle. Also wateringor spraying the bananas with GA-3 only causesabnormal growth in the plant and does not stimulatequicker flowering.There are many sources in the United Statesfor living plants and seeds, which can be easily locatedon the Internet.AcknowledgementMy warmest thanks to my friend EmoryWalton, whose generous support made this articlepossible. He devoted considerable effort to correctmisspellings and grammar, and provided other valuablecomments during this writing. >Support a Student and Win aTour of the AmazonDevon Graham, owner of Margarita Tours, is offering a freepost-conference trip on the Napo and Amazon rivers ($485value) for the winner of a drawing. Thirty two tickets areavailable for a donation of $25 each, allowing HSI to raise$800 to subsidize the conference fees for students who otherwisecould not afford to attend the conference. Donationsneed to be made by 1 March 2008, either through our website,www.heliconia.org or by sending a check (from a U.S.bank) to our treasurer, Dr. David Lorence, NTBG, 3530 PapalinaRd., Kalaheo, HI 96741 USA. If at least 20 tickets arenot picked up, the drawing will be cancelled and the moneyreturned to the participants.For details of the tour, go to the website >HSI Student Research Grants fundedduring 2005 to 2007David LorenceChair, HSI Research Grants ProgramThe Heliconia Society International sponsors a smallgrants program supporting research projects on anyaspects of the botany and horticulture of the Zingiberalesconducted by graduate and post-doctoral studentsenrolled at recognized universities and researchinstitutions. Please see the Research page ofour website for details: www.heliconia.org/research_index.html. We are pleased to have fundedthe following projects during the last two years.1. Dhanya Arunan, College of Agriculture, Kerala,http://www.amazonriverexpeditions.com/hsiconference2008/english/preypost.htmNotice that there are two options for post-conference trips;this offer is for Option 2. Also see HSI Bulletin 13(1/2),November 2006 for Ray and Migdalia Jerome’s write up ofthis tour.India, was awarded $250 for her project“Standardization of in-vitro pollination and fertilizationtechniques for Heliconia.” Ms. Aruna’s studyfocused on standardizing techniques for in vitro pollinationand fertilization to facilitate a hybridizationprogram. Three selected varieties of Heliconia psittacorumwere studied and various protocols and techniquesfor in vitro pollination, fertilization, and embryogenesiswere tested. These protocols are expectedto be useful for hybridization programs inHeliconia. Funding was used to cover laboratory suppliesand reagents.2. David Matagala, University of Miami, Florida,was awarded $500 for his research project titled“Cost of reproduction and pollinator limitation in theclonal herb, Calathea marantifolia (Marantaceae)”.

THE PAGE BULLETIN 16 / JANUARY 2005 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2008 19Mr. Matagala’s dissertation research addresses theimportance of sexual and asexual reproduction inthe understory herb Calathea marantifolia across arange of light environments. Experimental and observationaltechniques will be used to determinethe advantages of each reproductive mode at theindividual and populational levels. The researchwill be the first to investigate the importance ofseeds and ramets for population growth and spreadby incorporating data on demography and dispersalin a mathematical mode. Experiments will beconducted at the individual level to investigate thecost of reproduction and physiological integrationbetween ramets. Reproductive allocation will bequantified in different light environments and themorphology of ramet development will be described.Funding will be used to cover airfare andstation fees.3. Yarineth Castrellon, Universidad de Panamá,was awarded $500 for her research project titled:“Study of the genetic diversity of selected PanamanianHeliconia species in the Section Barbataeusing RAPD markers.” Ms. Castrellon’s thesisresearch focused on a genetic analysis of a complexof Panamanian Heliconia species in the SectionBarbatae including H. pogonantha var. pogonanthaand var. veraguasensis, H. ramonensis var.ramonensis, var. lanuginosa, var. xanthotricha,and var. glabra, H. magnifica, and H. xanthovillosa.Funding was used to cover laboratory suppliesand reagents. [See HSI Bulletin 13(3/4),October 2007: 16, for her results.]4. Vinita Gowda, graduate student at The GeorgeWashington University, was awarded $500 to helpfund her project titled: “Nectar study of two nativeCaribbean heliconias (Heliconia: Heliconiaceae)pollinated by sexually dimorphic Purple-throatedCarib hummingbirds.” Ms. Gowda is studying thenectar profiles in the two Caribbean heliconias H.bihai and H. caribaea on the islands of St. Kitts, Dominica,and St. Vincent. Given that these two Heliconiaspecies have sex-specific pollination systems—theyare pollinated by sexually dimorphicPurple-throated Carib hummingbirds—her fieldwork focused on whether they have similar nectarprofiles on the three islands. Funding was used tocover transportation, accommodations, and otherfield expenses.5. C. R. Reshmi, College of Agriculture, Kerala,India, was awarded $500 for a project titled"Enhancement of propagation efficiency in exoticvarieties of Heliconia". The research will focus onstudying techniques for rapid multiplication of threevarieties making the production of planting materialin large numbers in a limited time possible. In thisstudy, it is aimed to achieve this by in vitro as wellas in vivo techniques. The in vitro propagation procedureswill be standardized for the production ofdisease-free planting material. In vivo study will befocused on the enhancement of sucker productionand its intensification which could solve the increasingdemand of planting material of exotic and novelvarieties which are costly. The three varieties studiedwill be: H. psittacorum 'St.Vincent Red', H. chartacea'Sexy Pink', and the cultivar H. 'Pedro Ortiz'.HSI Headquartersc/o Lyon Arboretum3860 Manoa RoadHonolulu, HI 96822 USA

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