BULLETIN - Heliconia Society International

BULLETINA Journal of the Heliconiaceae and the related Cannaceae, Costaceae, Lowiaceae, Marantaceae, Musaceae, Strelitziaceae, and ZingiberaceaeJanuary, 2010 VOL. 16 NO. 1HSI Headquarters HSI Editor: Associate Editor:c/o Lyon Arboretum Raymond F. Baker Victor Lee3860 Manoa Road Lyon Arboretum 55 Jalan KemuningHonolulu, HI 96822 USA 3860 Manoa Road Singapore, 769777Honolulu, HI 96822 USAA Trip to EcuadorPhotos by author unless otherwise noted.Bruce Dunstan, 21 Imbros Street,Nundah, Queensland 4012, Australia(brucedunstan@hotkey.net.au)Photo: David SkinnerIn October of this year I was lucky enough to travelin Ecuador again since my first trip 19 years ago. My travellingcompanions this time were Carla Black, Angel Rodriguezand Dave Skinner. The last time I was in Ecuador itwas my first trip to South America and I was a part of anHSI organised trip including HSI luminaries Fred Berryand Lester Pancoast, amongst others. That trip was mindblowing for me, seeing so many species of heliconias andother tropical plants, all new to me at the time. Fred hadthe travelling notes of José Abalo and Mark Collins froma trip they had done the previous year. Finding plantswe were interested in was very easy: just count the kilometres,get out, and look around. This time we did ourown homework, looking at collection data from speciespublications and we also consulted José, who kindlygave us some very detailed information on some otherspecies that we were keen to find.

PAGE 2 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2010Over a 3-month planning period we worked out anitinerary to visit some areas that Carla, Angel, Dave andmyself hadn’t been to before. In our 14 days we travelledover 3400 km with Angel at the wheel, driving like a machinewith a Zen-like calm I’ve never seen, covering somegood roads, some bad roads, and even some roads that requiredmajor earthmoving equipment to allow us to pass.Twice we had to alter our planned routes due to landslides,turning around and finding another way to get to habitatswe were interested in visiting. Since this was the end ofthe dry season I’m sure we picked a good time of year toget around – landslides would undoubtedly be worse in therainy season. Angel had to put up with lots of “ooohhing,aaahhing, look at that!” type of behaviour from inveterateplant fanciers, but the only way to stop the car was to say“Stop!” He also had to put up with passengers trying toget out of the moving car in a rush to get to plants that wespied as we motored around this beautiful country. Healso had to deal with cities, towns and rural areas that boreabsolutely no similarity to our two road maps. Plus therewere the normal Ecuadorian drivers with no interest in goingslowly to look at their native plants, so Angel had torelax, move to the right, and allow all manner of traffic toovertake as we trawled our way slowly along very narrowsteep dirt and river rock roads.In all we saw 31 species of Heliconia in bloom. Iadded 14 species to my list seen in the wild, and perhaps 5species I had never seen before anywhere. To me thishighlights the fantastic job HSI Conservation Centres doaround the world, as I have over the past 20 years beenable to view so many species in cultivation. With habitatdestruction continuing to be a major concern regarding theviability of lots of Heliconia species around the world,these collections are going to be invaluable in the comingyears.The first region we travelled to was Zamora ChinchipeProvince. This is in the southeast of Ecuador andit took us the better part of two days driving from Quitoto reach our starting point, as a landslide on the Gualaceo- Gualaquiza road meant we had to backtrack andloop around, adding 3-4 extra hours to our journey. Theupside for me was seeing flowering Racinea, Guzmaniaand Pitcairnia as we came down through the cloud forestareas to Limón. My interest in, or some would sayserious addiction to, bromeliads over the past 10 yearsmeans that we made plenty of extra stops to photographall manner of these plants, in addition to heliconias andDave’s passion Costaceae. As we were interested inseeing mid- to higher elevation Heliconia species wemanaged to keep Dave hostage in these higher elevationswhere his Costus were thin on the ground. It wasn’t untilwe went below 900 m that they became more common.The Rio Nangaritza region was base for our first 3days in the woods and we saw plenty of H. vellerigera,H. stricta, H. orthotricha, and H. rostrata. After sometime in the low elevations we began heading up riverdrainages to mid- to higher elevations and were rewardedwith some different species. H. dielsiana in yellowand orange as well as red colorations. Heliconiapastazae was also seen in many differing forms, quitedifferent from the ones I had seen in Sucumbíos Province20 years ago. We saw red and orange and nearlysolid red spiral forms as well as a red distichous form.As enthusiasts we happily defer to others to make decisionson whether these variations are worthy of a rankingother than just polymorphism within species. I certainlyhad no idea H. pastazae was so variable. It justgoes to show it pays to travel more widely to see theseamazing variations.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 2008-2009President, Anders J. Lindstrom; Vice-presidents forMembership, Carla Black and Jan Hintze; Secretary, (notfilled); Treasurer, David Lorence; Editors, Ray Baker andVictor Lee; Cultivar Registrar, Bryan Brunner; Archivist: SandraBarnes. Board of Directors: Mark Friedrich, RaymondJerome, David Orr, David Skinner, Chelsea Specht.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, hortvet@singnet.com.sg, 65-67598208, 65-67571231 (FAX).

THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2010 PAGE 3The next species we were chasing was H. brenneri,a higher elevation species. One time, after climbing wayup into the mountains on an off-chance, we finally decidedwe were out of luck and called off the search. Just as wewere turning around a strange Heliconia leaf fluttered atus, and sure enough: there was H. brenneri growing nextto a waterfall in rocks and rich leaf humus with perfectdrainage. This was on a different road and some distanceaway from the original, and only, collection made by GustavoMorales and José Abalo way back in 1982. It is goodnews that this beautiful plant is still growing, and in arange larger than previously known.Emboldened with our success we continued headingnorth, taking side trips up different drainages lookingfor more plants. The next species we came across wasH. peteriana growing in the same place it was discoveredby Abalo and Morales also back in the early 80’s.The forest around this locality was just about nonexistentdue to clearing for cultivation and grazing. At avery small remnant patch of woods we wandered in andquickly found ten or so clumps happily flowering. Itseemed that all the Heliconia we saw on this trip wereflowering, getting ready to disperse their seed in thecoming wet season due in 4 to 8 weeks. H. peterianaalong with H. brenneri are species I have never comeH. vellerigera (leftphoto: CarlaBlack)H. brenneri(left photo:Carla Black)H. orthotrichaH. dielsiana (2color forms) withAngel Rodriguez(right three photos:Carla Black)H. pastazaelocalities from left to right:Guyazimi, Indanza-Gualaquisa, Macas-Riobamba, (right photo:Carla Black, near Sangay)H. peteriana(right photo: CarlaBlack, showinghabitat loss)

PAGE 4 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2010across in cultivation. I would imagine their higher elevationhabitats would be difficult to replicate at our HSI ConservationCentres.Heading further north along the Oriente Highwaywe headed towards Tena in Pastaza Province. Species wespotted in the lower elevations included H. aemygdianavar. aemygdiana, H. spathocircinata, H. subulata, H obscurassp. fusca, H. stricta with purple leaf undersides, andH. berryi. Another landslide would have the road closedfor at least a day, so we consulted the map and decided tohead back up into the Inter Andean valley via Baños, to tryour luck on the Northern Pacific slopes starting with theroad heading down from the Inter Andean highway toSanto Domingo de los Colorados.The second stage of our Ecuadorian adventurestarted along the Inter Andean Highway at the town ofLatacunga - perfect for viewing the snow covered volcanoCotapaxi. We went out for dinner to a very fancy establishmentwith linen table cloths as our usual haunts arestrictly local eating establishments sampling culinary delightssuch as chicken feet and gizzard soups, fresh caughtcatfish for breakfast, different local beans, lentils, peas orpigeon peas, all quite tasty and I managed a trip withoutfalling foul of the Inca quickstep, quite an achievement forsomeone with my delicate constitution. First time on thetrip did I don my running shoes, best saved for travellingon planes, as the shoes I wear into the bush are a tastefullyearthy hue, once being grey. This brings the argumentshould rubber boots be worn in the forest. I’m still steadfastlyrefusing as I can still climb precarious slopes and theoccasional tree for bromeliads in my shoes and I can’timagine I could do so in boots. We also sampled somelovely sticky white clay that completely covered one of myshoes while Carla disappeared to below boot level in thesame stuff and had to be extricated by the two Ecuadorianorchid aficionados we were travelling with, whowere able to retrieve Carla and her boots intact. Sadly Imissed the photo opportunity as I was trying to get theclay off my foot at the time.Turning off the highway and starting down the hilltowards Santo Domingo de los Colorados we weregreeted with some very good luck. Major road workswere occurring and the expansion of the old two-laneroad meant we could pull over and explore wherever wesaw plants we liked the look of. Starting at the top wesaw H. impudica and H. griggsiana. As we continueddown I noticed a large green plant and duly said “there’sa big green arching one”. Unfortunately I didn’t say“Stop!” and we never saw it again. We consulted ourhomework and looked at Abalo and Morales descriptionsand thought it may have been H. paludigena. Carlawill make another attempt to see what we noticed onanother trip to Ecuador in the future. This plant is anotherthat doesn’t seem to be cultivated currently to myknowledge but is one that appears to be worthy with itslong golden inflorescences.As we descended we saw H. harlingii, H. longa,H. riopalenquensis, H. nigripraefixa and H. latispatha aswell as H. wagneriana. We couldn’t tell if it is a gardenescapee or is indeed growing naturally in the lower elevations.It certainly appeared over a fair range as wetravelled along the roads in and around Santo Domingo.The old road from Santo Domingo to Quito was afantastic day trip. This old road is pretty much one laneand has been allowed to regrow in places as all traffictravels on the newer paved highway and the old roadcarries local traffic these days. Trees dripping withGuzmania wittmackii, Mezobromelia capituligera andTop row, left to right:H. aemygdiana with author(photo: Carla Black);H.griggsiana;H. harlingiiBelow and right:H. nigripraefixa(2 right photos:Carla Black)Left: H. impudica

THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2010 PAGE 5Guzmania teuscheri kept my attention in between H.griggsiana red and blueish wax until we came to a coupleof individuals with yellow instead of the mostly dominantred. Harry Luther from Marie Selby Botanical Garden hasmentioned recently these xanthic or yellow forms are commonin some bromeliads especially Guzmania. I guess weare seeing this in Heliconia as well. A good example beingthe yellow H. dielsiana we saw in the south. As weclimbed in elevation we were able to start spotting differentspecies starting with H. virginalis, H. pardoi and finallyat the top of the hill we started to see beautiful examplesof H. burleana some up to 3m tall with large red inflorescences.The next day we headed towards San Miguel del losBancos on two missions. Firstly Dave was keen to relocatea Costus he saw briefly a couple of years ago when hewas able to coax a bus driver to stop quickly so he couldjump out and take a photo before the bus took off. Seeingthe work of Ecuadorian bus drivers, Dave is either verypersuasive or lucky. I’ll leave it to Dave to one day documenthis discoveries and his captivity at high elevations.We travelled to the town of Pachijal and along the road wecame across another couple of Heliconia species that wehadn’t seen before - H. regalis (a large red form), and wewere lucky to finally find a flowering H. sclerotricha afterseeing hundreds of individuals but no flowers. We speculatedlong and hard what it could be with it’s lenticularmarkings along the pseudostems, common in the sectionObscurae, and fan style leaf arrangement similar to H.trichocarpa and others in the section Sigmoideae.The next area we were targeting was around thetown of San Miguel del los Bancos. This is the habitat andcollecting locality of one of the two patterned leaf heliconias,H. willisiana. I was lucky enough to see an individualof this species about 12 years ago at Mark Collins’sEden Farms Kurtistown farm halfway up the volcano onthe big Island of Hawaii. Mark’s farm was generallycloudy with a regular rainfall. The day we were in SanMiguel del los Bancos was pretty much the same. Ittook us a while asking lots of locals where the old roadto Santo Domingo was and we found that we needed tobe asking people over 60 to be getting the right answers.In the meantime the cloud cover was getting to the pointthat Angel had between 5 and 10m of visibility as weheaded off down the old road. Judging the size of anoncoming vehicle by the distance between its headlightscan be fraught with danger as we found huge trucksemerging out of the gloom with just two fog lampsclosely spaced on their bumpers. The locality of theoriginal collection was 12km from the town and we hadcrawled about 2km from town when we had to decide ifthe danger exceeded the value of finding this rare species.Once again we decided we had gone as far as weshould and made the call to turn around. We had passeda small forest remnant left standing in a gully next to theroad and decided we should drop down into it for a forlornlast look. I hacked my way through the tanglededge and then staggered straight into a single strand ofbarbed wire lurking in the fog and the foliage at a niceshin height. As I was hopping around swearing, Carlafollowed me into the foggy forest. The first thing Iknew, Carla wacked me on the shoulder and pointed to apatterned leaf Heliconia lurking in the fog. Sure enoughshe had spotted H. willisiana. What was almost moreamazing growing right next to it was a patterned leafpalm, possibly a Geonoma but it reminded me of patternedleaf Pinanga I have seen in South East Asian forests.Our luck continued as we had found another spe-Top row, left to right:H. virginalis;H. pardoi ;H. burleana (2 photos)Left:H. sclerotrichaRight:H. willisiana|||||||||||Below and right:H. regalis, withCarla and Angel;(right photo: CarlaBlack, near Lita)

PAGE 6 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2010cies pretty much with just sheer luck.Our next locality was the mythical Lita region closeto the Colombian border in Carchi Province. I have fondmemories of being a very young heliconia enthusiast withFred Berry telling me tales of collecting in this region byhim and others back in the 80s. To get there from San Miguelde los Bancos meant another huge drive through theback blocks, although there was the tantalising sound of anew road up to Otavalo. We travelled over some veryrough roads down steep canyons with no other traffic onthe roads. Somewhere along through this area we cameacross another pendent species that we have no idea as toits identity—red with some black hairs, as well as some onthe foliage midribs as well as clasping leaf bases, anotherFRPH. Images were captured for referral to more informedindividuals. Being an enthusiast means you areonly as good as the botanical descriptions or books you arecarrying with you on the day and Carla had pretty mucheverything she could lay her hands on. I had downloadedimages on my laptop from the Smithsonian Type SpecimenRegister prior to trip to help.The new road to Otavalo turned out to be quite aconstruction which was in progress. Bulldozers carryingbeautiful pink sausages of explosives tied up with canaryyellow detonation cord, made way to more bulldozersclearing rock falls that could be used as roads. Needless tosay our little 4WD with minimal ground clearance justmade it through without needing a push from the dozers orall of the passengers to get out as we had to in other sectionsand some creek crossings.The next day we arrived in the Lita-Alto Tamboregion along a newly laid hot mix asphalt road that lookedas if formula-1 race cars could use it as a testing track, sosmooth the surface was. This had me thinking how hardthe travel was in the old days when there was just thetrain and hard roads to get into this river valley thatstarts as an arid wasteland and as it drops down into theEsmeraldas Province where the Chocó region is justacross the border in Colombia, reputed to be one of thewettest regions in the world. Rapid clearing is occurringin the surrounding areas as elsewhere in Ecuador as thegrowing population look to have their own farms forfood production and somewhere to bring up their growingfamilies. We travelled as many roads as we couldand found the following species of Heliconia: H. nigripraefixa,an all red form of H. harlingii, H. latispatha,H. regalis, more pink with yellowish hairs, H. obscuroides,and another red pendent with necrotic tips thatmay be H. fragilis.The plant we were hoping to see was H. lutheri - ahairy pendent from the Barbatae group with white waxyundersides to its leaves. We spent two days lookinghigh and low but came up empty. We saw lots of whitebacked Calathea lutea but not the elusive H. lutheri.This trip was a fantastic adventure and we certainlysaw lots of Ecuador and its natural beauty in twoweeks. Without Carla Black and Angel Rodriguez thereis no way someone like myself who can really only ordera cerveza and ask for the bill in Spanish would be able toget around with the absolute freedom we enjoyed and Iam eternally grateful for their generous company.Above, left to right:H. obscuroides;H. cf. fragilis (betweenLita and Alto Tambo)Below and right: wildlifeAbove left: preparing aspecimen of H. aemygdiana(photo: Dave Skinner)Above right: waterfallnear H. brenneri locality,Gualaquiza-Sigsig road.Below right: roadblocked by landslide

THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2010 PAGE 7Challenges Ahead for the BananaThe History of BananasMarkku Häkkinen 1* and Richard H. Wallace 2 ,1 Finnish Museum of Natural History, BotanicGarden, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 44, FI-00014, Finland(markku.hakkinen@kymp.net )* To whom correspondence should be addressed.2 Department of Chemistry and Physics, 11935Abercorn Street, Armstrong Atlantic State University,Savannah, Georgia 31419, U.S.A.Reprinted with permission from Folia malaysiana Vol. 10(1) 2009: 23-32. Story and images copyrighted by theauthors.Abstract Even though the banana is the fourth most importantfood crop in the world it is largely ignored by mostfunding agencies (Grimm, 2008). There are a number ofdiseases that attack bananas. Some of these include BlackSigatoka Disease or Black Leaf Streak Disease (BLSD)and Banana Bunchy Top Disease. The most destructive ofthese diseases is a new form of an old enemy, Panama disease,which had caused the banana many problems in thepast (Grimm, 2008). This review offers a brief history ofthe banana, describes its current state and the problems itfaces. It also offers a glimpse of the possible routes to solutionsfor these problems.Bananas were first referenced in Sanskrit writingsfrom around 500 BC and are thought to have originatedin an area that includes India, Papua New Guinea,Southern China, Malaysia and Indonesia (Reynolds,1940). Some of the bananas in this region over a periodof time, developed more pulp and became seedless. Exactlywhere seedless bananas developed is unknown butit is believed to have occurred around 10,000 years ago(Denham et al., 2003).The edible bananas we know today developedfrom two wild seeded species, Musa acuminata Colla(Figs. 1, 2 & 3) and Musa balbisiana Colla (Figs. 4 & 5)and are very different from their ancestors (Colla, 1820;Simmonds, 1962). The fruit from M. acuminata and M.balbisiana weigh around 30 grams each, contain a verysmall amount of edible pulp and are very difficult to eatdue to the numerous hard seeds (Simmonds, 1962).There are three groupings of banana cultivars that arerecognized today. One of these groups displays thecharacteristics of M. acuminata, one displays the characteristicsof M. balbisiana, and the third group are hybridsof M. acuminata and M. balbisiana scientifically calledMusa x paradisiaca and display characteristics of bothspecies (Simmonds, 1960, 1962; Champion, 1967) (Fig.6). The first edible seedless bananas were M. acuminatadiploids that became parthenocarpic (producing fruitwithout pollination) and were therefore sterile(Simmonds, 1960, 1962).The edible bananas of today come in a variety ofLeft: M. acuminata (herbariumspecimen, male flowers, fruits)Right: M. balbisiana(male flowers, fruits)Below: M. x paradisiaca412365

PAGE 8 THE BULLETIN // JANUARY 2005 2010sizes but commonly weigh around 200 grams. Inside thereis only edible pulp with the remnants of seeds (present asbrown specks in the pulp). Seeds are rarely, if ever foundin the pulp. Even if the female flowers are pollinated, theproduction of seeds is very low and some cultivars arecompletely sterile and never form seeds (Simmonds, 1960;Champion, 1967). There are some cultivars that will set afew seeds if pollinated but the seed production is very low.More than 10 seeds per fruit are unusual with the averagenumber being much lower (Simmonds, 1960). The cultivarsthat have retained a small degree of female viabilityare very important in banana breeding programs aroundthe world. The use of these cultivars in improving the ediblebanana is described below (Champion, 1967; Fawcett,1913; Kervégant, 1935; Jacob, 1952; Valmayor et al.,2002; Shanmugavelu et al., 1992; Bakry, et al., 2009).Bananas are an important food crop and rank fourthworldwide behind rice, wheat, and corn. Less than 15% ofthe bananas produced around the world enter the exportmarket. The remainder of the fruit are consumed locally.The members of the Cavendish group are the most commonlygrown bananas for export purposes (Bakry et al.,2009). In the United States the average person consumesaround 25 pounds of bananas per year, but in some parts ofAfrica the average consumption approaches 550 poundsper year (Bioversity International, 2000). In addition tobeing consumed in the ripe state, bananas are also used inthe green cooked stage, to brew beer and in a variety ofother foods (Bakry et al., 2009; Bioversity International,2000; Karamura, 1998).The Problem with DiseasesBanana pests and pathogens that cause diseaseshave co-evolved with their host plants within the purportedcentres of origin where the greatest diversity exists today.The wild seeded banana species typically possess resistanceto a variety of diseases that attack banana plants beinggrown for fruit production. The balance tipped in favorof these diseases when people started selecting forparthenocarpic plants. (These plants do not need to be pollinatedto produce fruits and as a result give seedlessfruits). As the banana was dispersed throughout the wettropics, inevitably most of the disease pathogens accompaniedthe vegetative suckers. As human populations beganto grow large numbers of the same cultivar in a location,pathogens began to attack these bananas (Pearse, 2003).Although the fruit from parthenocarpic banana plants arebetter suited for eating, the lack of genetic diversity andmixing causes the plants to become more susceptible todisease (Koeppel, 2005; Canine, 2005). Over time, differentcultivars appealing to a variety of tastes and uses weregenerated, but at the expense of resistance to diseases andpests. This susceptibility to disease has caused problemsfor the banana in the past and present.The banana industry is important to the economyof a number of countries because it provides both jobsand food for the people but banana production in Asia iscurrently fighting a battle with a new form of an old enemy,Panama disease. Panama disease, also known asFusarium wilt, is a banana disease caused by a soil-bornefungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, that hascaused significant problems for banana production in thepast (Stover, 1990). Prior to the 1950’s, the bananaexport market in Latin America and the Caribbeanregion was dominated by a cultivar known as ‘GrosMichel’ or “Big Mike”. Panama disease Race 1 wasresponsible for the devastation of these bananaplantations and forced the conversion to cultivars of theCavendish group which possessed resistance to Panamadisease Race 1 (Ploetz, 2005a, 2005b). The funguscurrently attacking banana plantations in Asia, Australiaand the Canary Islands is another form of F. oxysporumf. sp. cubense known as Tropical Race 4 (Fig. 7). Threeof the four races of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense have beenreported toa t t a c kbananas.The other(Race 3)only attacksheliconias(Ploetz,2005b).7Panama disease Tropical Race 4 is especially damagingsince it attacks all varieties of bananas that Races 1 and 2attacks. In addition it also attacks the Cavendishcultivars which are not affected by Races 1 and 2(Ploetz, 2005b), (Fig. 8). This is especially importantsince the Cavendish cultivars are very widely grown forlocal consumption in a variety of countries. Members ofthe Cavendish group are also grown widely in thebanana exporting regions of the world.The fungus infection begins by penetration into8

THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2010 2005 PAGE 99the roots of the plant, colonizes and grows within the vascularsystem and eventually chokes off the flow of waterand nutrients to the plant. The growing fungus produces amycotoxin, fusaric acid, which is then carried in the transpirationstream and causes the yellowing of the olderleaves initially which then spreads to the youngerleaves. Eventually the leaves collapse near the stem andthe plant dies usually before producing fruit (Ploetz, 2000).The fungus that causes Panama disease can live for manyyears in the soil and is easily spread by the use of rhizomesor “suckers” which are commonly used as plantingmaterial for starting new plantations. The pathogen canalso be spread by irrigation water and infected soil on thetools and shoes of workers (Ploetz, 2000).In addition to Panama disease, the banana is alsoinvolved in a fight against several other diseases. Two ofthe most damaging are Black Sigatoka Disease or BlackLeaf Streak Disease (BLSD) and Banana Bunchy Top Diseasecaused by the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV).BLSD is caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensisMorelet and attacks the leaves of the banana plant (Bakryet al., 2009; Heslop-Harrison & Schwarzacher, 2007). Thedisease can cause significant reductions in yield and isonly partially controlled by the regular aerial application offungicides. It is estimated that 15-20% of the productioncosts associated with bananas is due to the need to applyfungicides to treat BLSD. Hybrid bananas that possessresistance to BLSD have been produced in bananabreeding programs. Banana Bunchy Top Disease causedby the virus BBTV is another serious disease of bananasthat is transmitted by aphids (Heslop-Harrison &Schwarzacher, 2007). However, this has a more restrictedworld-wide distribution.Fears about Panama Disease and Market ImpactPanama disease was responsible for causing a numberof problems for the banana industry in China in recentmonths. Due to reports that were published in the media inChina during the spring of 2007, the general populationbecame afraid to eat bananas. The reports of the disease inthe banana plantations led to rumors that Panama diseasewas dangerous to people. This resulted in reduced purchasingof the fruit by the general population. As a resultof the reduced demand, there was heavy overproduction offruit, which resulted in much lower prices and a huge economicloss for the banana industry in China (Koeppel,2008).Author Dan Koeppel described the situation in hisbook “Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed theWorld”, published in early 2008. “The blight became bignews in China during the middle of the year, when a newspaperarticle described the malady as 'banana cancer'.Within days, scores of consumers and farmers were avoidingthe fruit, fearing it would make them sick. Within amonth, banana sales across China had plummeted”(Koeppel, 2008). When asked about thepotential danger of eating fruit from plants grown insoils infested with the Panama disease pathogen, Dr.Alice C.L. Churchill, from Cornell University and Chairof the ProMusa Crop Protection Working Group, madethe following statement for this article: "Fortunately,consumer fears of contracting a disease from bananasharvested from F. oxysporum f. sp. cubensecontaminatedareas are unfounded since the fungus is nota human pathogen. Like most plant pathogens, thefungus that causes Panama disease is specific for itsplant host, in this case susceptible banana and somealternative plant hosts, primarily infecting the roots ofplants grown in contaminated soil. Although the roots,pseudostem, and leaves of infected banana plants willeventually show disease symptoms caused by fungaldamage to the plant vascular system, the fungus is notknown to infect or contaminate the fruits of the plantbut, instead, significantly weakens and eventually killsthe plant, reducing fruit yield during disease progression.Therefore, consumption of fruit from Panama diseaseaffectedplants poses no direct risk to consumers."In addition to attacking bananas, different formsof F. oxysporum attack a number of important plantsgrown for food production around the world includingtomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplants, asparagus, gingerand melons (Nelson, 1990).Possible SolutionsThere are few effective methods for the managementand control of Panama disease. Chemical treatmentsare of little use for the effective, long term removalof F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense from the soil(Bakry et al., 2009). Varieties of bananas susceptible toPanama disease Tropical Race 4 can be grown in noninfectedsoil if disease-free plants from tissue culture areused as planting material and the pathogen is not introducedinto the area by some other means. Even thoughdisease-free plants can be provided for establishing bananaplantations, it is very difficult to prevent the plantsfrom contracting Panama disease after they are placed inthe fields (Ploetz, 2000).Employing banana cultivars that possess resistanceto the fungus is at present the best method availablefor the production of bananas in soils infested withthe pathogen. Several Fusarium-resistant cultivars ofthe Cavendish group have been developed by the TaiwanBanana Research Institute as a result of intensive selectionfor disease-resistant somaclonal variants (Hwang &Ko, 2004). When plants are produced using tissueculture, differences are sometimes observed in theplants. These differences are referred to as somaclonalvariation. These somaclonal variations can be a negative

PAGE 10 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY / 2010 2005when the plants being produced need to be clones of eachother but can be of great use in the search for improvedvarieties of plants.There are also resistant hybrids that have been developedin banana breeding programs around the world.Even though Panama disease-resistant hybrids have beenproduced in breeding programs, these new hybrids are notvery well received in all regions because their flavor isdifferent from that of the Cavendish group (Figs. 9-12).Several Panama disease Tropical Race 4-resistantEmbryowithinseedtetraploid hybrid bananas have been produced by FHIA(Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola) a bananabreeding program located in Honduras (Bakry etal., 2009; Rowe, 1990).The production of new banana hybrids throughtraditional breeding can be a time consuming and difficultprocess. As mentioned previously, edible bananavarieties do not produce many seeds when pollinated andsome never produce any seeds. The few seeds that areobtained through the application of pollen to the femaleflowers of an edible banana do not germinate with greatsuccess when planted normally in the soil. To facilitateincreased survival rates, matured seeds are subjected to“embryo rescue”, whereby the embryo in the seed isaseptically extracted and grown on a nutrient rich mediain the laboratory (Bakry et al., 2009), (Figs. 13, 14 &15). This allows the embryos to germinate in much largernumbers than would occur if the seeds were planted913 1410111215in soil. After the embryo has germinated, the seedlingmust be grown for several weeks in sterile conditions inthe laboratory until it is strong enough to make the transitioninto soil (Fig. 15). After the plant has been transitionedinto growing in soil, it can take several years tofully evaluate the disease resistance and fruit productionof the new hybrid banana. In addition to traditionalbreeding techniques, Fusarium resistant plants are alsobeing developed through the use of mutation breedingand other methods (Bakry et al., 2009).Although much progress has been made, thesearch for new bananas with Fusarium wilt and otherdisease/pest resistance will continue to occupy the timeof those involved in banana breeding for years to come.

PAGE THE BULLETIN 12 / JANUARY 2010 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2005 11ReferencesBakry, F., Carreel, F., Jenny, C. and Horry, J.P. 2009.Breeding Plantation Tree Crops. p. 3–50. In: MohanJain, S. and Priyadarshan, P.M. (ed.), Tropical Species.Springer Publishers, New York, NY.Bioversity International. 2000. Bananas. Website (online):http://bananas.bioversityinternational.org/files/files/pdf/publications/brochure_bananas.dfCanine, G. 2005. Building a better banana. Smithsonian 36(7): 96–104.Champion, J. 1967. Les bananiers et leur culture. IFAC,Editions SETCO, Paris.Colla, L.A. 1820. Memoria sul Genere Musa. Mem. RealeAccad. Sci. Torino 25: 394.Denham, T.P., Haberle, S.G., Lentfer, C., Fullagar, R.,Field, J., Therin, M., Porch, N. and Winsborough, B.2003. Origins of Agriculture at Kuk Swamp in theHighlands of New Guinea. Science 301: 189–193.Fawcett, W. 1913. The banana. Its cultivation, distributionand commercial uses. Duckworth & Co., London.Grimm, D. 2008. A Bunch of Trouble. Science 322: 1046–1047.Heslop-Harrison, J.S. and Schwarzacher, T. 2007.Domestication, Genomics and the Future for Banana.Ann. Bot. 100(5): 1073-1084.Hwang, S.C. and Ko, W.H. 2004. Cavendish Banana CultivarsResistant to Fusarium Wilt Acquired throughSomaclonal Variation in Taiwan Plant Disease 88:580–588.Jacob, K.C. 1952. Madras bananas - A monograph. GovernmentPress, Madras.Karamura, D.A. 1998. Numerical taxonomic studies of theEast African highland banana (Musa AAA–East Africa).A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy, Department of Agricultural Botany, TheUniversity of Reading. International Plant Genetic ResourcesInstitute, Rome.Kervégant, D. 1935. Le Bananier et son exploitation. Sociétéd'Editions Gographiques, Maritimes et Coloniales,Paris.Koeppel, D. 2005. Can this fruit be saved. Popular Science267(2): 60–67 and 104–105.Koeppel, D. 2008. Banana – The Fate of the Fruit ThatChanged the World. Hudson Street Press, New York,NY, U.S.A.Nelson, P.E. 1990. Fusarium Wilt of Banana. p.27–35. In:Ploetz, R.C. (ed.), APS Press, St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.Pearse, F. 2003. Going Bananas. New Scientist 2378: 26–29.Ploetz, R.C. 2005a. Plant Health Progress. Website(online): http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/panama/Ploetz, R.C. 2005b. Plant Health Progress. Website(online) http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/panama2/Ploetz, R.C. 2000. Plant Health Progress. Website(online). http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/php/management/bananapanama/Reynolds, P.K. and Fang, C.Y. 1940. The banana in Chineseliterature [Cambridge] Harvard Yenching Institute5, 165: 165–181.Rowe, P.R. 1990. Fusarium Wilt of Banana. p.115–120.In: Ploetz, R.C. (ed.), APS Press, St. Paul, MN,U.S.A.Shanmugavelu, K.G., Aravindaksha, K. and Sathiamoorthy,S. 1992. Banana - Taxonomy, Breeding andProduction Technology. Metropolitan Book Co.,New Delhi.Simmonds, N.W. 1962. The evolution of the bananas.Longmans, London.Simmonds, N.W. 1960. Bananas. 2ed. Longmans, London.Stover, R.H. 1990. Fusarium Wilt of Banana. p.1–8 . In:Ploetz, R.C. (ed.), APS Press, St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.Valmayor, R.V. Espino, R.R.C. and Pascua, O.C. 2002.The wild and cultivated bananas of the Philippines.Philippine Agriculture and Resources ResearchFoundation, Inc. Los Baños, Laguna.Hamilton Manley, 1945-2009We are sad to announce that one of our early HSI members,Hamilton Manley of Kurtistown on the Big Island of Hawaiì,passed away on 1 July, 2009 while snorkeling at the Wai Opaetide pools near Kapoho, something he and his family loved todo. Hamilton was 64, born in Greensboro, North Carolina.Hamilton was HSI Vice-President for Executive Affairs from1987-1991, and would lead panel discussions on cut flowers atour early conferences. He was conference chairman for the1990 meeting in Hilo, Hawaiì. An active sportsman, Hamiltoncoached various youth basketball teams, and for 5 years wasassistant coach for the men’s basketball team at the Universityof Hawaiì - Hilo. He was formerly co-owner of SunshineFarms, which specialized in cut tropical flowers, particularlyanthuriums. The business closed and he retired in 2004. He issurvived by hiswife Marisa;sons Harlan,Stewart andIsaac; daughtersHarlina and Suliana;and twograndchildren.Above all, Hamiltonwas a greatguy and a pleasureto know.

THE PAGE BULLETIN 12 / JANUARY 2005 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2010 13The Genus PlagiostachysJana Leong-Škorničková, Senior Researcher(Zingiberaceae), Herbarium,Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 ClunyRoad, 259569 Singapore(jana_SKORNICKOVA@nparks.gov.sg)Reprinted with permission from Gardenwise (SingaporeBotanic Gardens), vol. 30: 35 (January 2008). Photos bythe author.This genus was first established in 1899 by the formerdirector of the Gardens, H.N. Ridley. Since then, almost30 species have been described from Indochina toMalesia, with its centre of diversity in Borneo. Thesestately gingers usually have rather small flowers. Theseare tightly arranged in dense slanting spikes, which breakout from the leafy shoot usually somewhere in the middleor lower half of the pseudostem, and rarely close tothe ground. Their inflorescences are often covered in aslimy mass. The peculiar position of inflorescence inspiredRidley to choose its botanical name based on theGreek words Plagio meaning oblique and stachys referringto the spike-like inflorescence.The study of this genus is particularly challengingas most flowers of Plagiostachys tend to quickly disintegrateinto slimy thick mass. However, modern molecularapproaches may clarify the position of this genus especiallyin relation to the genus Alpinia, which seemsclosely related. Recent DNA-based studies of the tribeAlpinieae (where genera Alpinia, Plagiostachys, Amomumand several others belong) have shown that somemembers of the genus Plagiostachys may actually becloser to others in the genus Alpinia. Unfortunately, gardenersmay have to put up with likely name changes inthe near future.Plagiostachys albiflora is one of the first species described.Found on Mt. Kukub in Johor State, Peninsular Malaysia in 1908by Ridley, this species seems to be widely distributed. In Borneo,it is reported to grow abundantly in wet places on the edgesof lowland forests. It displays a certain level of variability requiringdetailed studies of living materials and molecular studies toelucidate this species complex. Under the magnifying lens, thetiny flower of P. albiflora (less than 1 cm long) reveals its beautywith its single stamen placed above the petal-like labellum. Thespecific name albiflora, means ‘white flower’. Interestinglyenough, with the yellow centre of the labellum and red lines at itsedges, the flowers are not really white, as one would expect.Fortunately, Ridley’s original description published for this speciesmentioned this colour pattern, removing doubts of the identityof this species.Plagiostachys breviramosa, a new species recently described in1999 by Jill Cowley, has small and delicate yellow flowers. Itoccurs in many parts of Borneo. Unusual for its branched inflorescence,it is one of the Plagiostachys species which does notexude a slimy mass. The inflorescence is rather dry after theflowering finishes and its dark red fruits are ovoid and smooth.Plagiostachys crocydocalyx is one of the stateliest specieswidely distributed in Borneo. German botanist K.Schumann originally described it as a member of thegenus Alpinia in 1899, but the species was transferredto the genus Plagiostachys in 1972. Its round fruits arefull of aromatic seeds with sour-sweet arils. Local peopleoften chew them.

PAGE THE BULLETIN 14 / JANUARY 2010 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2005 13More Plagiostachys at Lyon ArboretumRaymond F. Baker, Lyon Arboretum, Universityof Hawaiì, 3860 Mānoa Road, Honolulu,Hawaii, USA 96822(raymondb@hawaii.edu)Following the lead of Jana Leong-Škorničková, nowthat she has brought this unusual and little known genus toour awareness, we would like to take this opportunity toshow a few more species growing at the Lyon Arboretumon Oahu in Hawaiì. These are only a few of the gingerspecies given to us over the years by John Mood, many ofwhich resulted from his collecting trips in Sabah (Borneo),and other parts of southeast Asia. Plagiostachys are notalways easy to grow, and the three pictured here are theones that have done the best under our conditions. Wehave also tried P. lasiophylla, P. parva, and several withoutspecies names, some of which are undescribed. Ms.Avelinah Julius, of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia,is currently working on the genus.Join the up-coming HSI 16th Conference in July2010 for an opportunity to see Plagiostachys in thewild during the post-conference trip to Sarawak!Dorsal viewSide viewVentral viewP. oblanceolata Gobilik & A.L. LambDorsal viewSide viewSide viewVentral viewP. megacarpa Julius & A. TakanoVentral viewP. strobilifera Ridley

PAGE 14 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY 2010 2005The Rediscovery of Globba arracanensis(Zingiberaceae) in MyanmarMichael Bordelon and W. John Kress, Botany,MRC-166, National Museum of Natural History,Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DCU.S.A.(Bordelon@si.edu, KRESSJ@si.edu)Reprinted with permission from the SmithsonianInstitution’s Department of Botany publication The PlantPress.In October of 1869 north of Akyab (now calledSittwe) in the Kolodyne River Valley of Arracan (nowcalled Rakhine) State in Myanmar, Wilhelm Silpuz Kurzcollected a plant that he would later name Globba arracanensisin the family Zingiberaceae. The plant was reportedby Kurz to be widely distributed in the mixed deciduousforests of the low hills of the region. The monthof October marks the start of the dry season in the westernhills of Myanmar and the plant must have been in the earlystages of starting to go dormant when collected by Kurz.Seed was present when he found it.Only three known voucher specimens of Globbaarracanensis were made by Kurz. The holotype is at theRoyal Botanic Gardens Kew; two isotypes are at RBGKew and the herbarium at the Botanic Garden in Calcutta(Williams, 2003). Kurz published this new species theyear after he found it in 1870 in the Journal of the AsiaticSociety of Bengal (vol. 39, page 83-84). Globba arracanensis,in subgenus Mantisia section Haplanthera(Williams et al., 2004), is the least studied and least understoodspecies in the entire genus and is closely related toG. andersonii from the Darjeeling region of India.This species was not collected again in Myanmar orany other country for 135 years and was presumed to beextinct. However, we discovered it again during a collectingexpedition to Myanmar in mid-November 2004, 32miles north of Sittwe along the road to Mrauk U, just northof Ponnagyun in Rakhine State. At that time the plant wascompletely dormant and the foliage was dry and unrecognizable.The rhizome was attached to a large boulder in adry stream bed in the understory of a bamboo forest. Wewere collecting any gingers that we found, even if dormant.Until this collection Globba arracanensis was onlyknown from the type specimen. We knew at the time wecollected it that we were in the area visited by Kurzin1869, but we did not know we had re-found this speciesuntil our plants flowered sixth months later in our greenhouses.The rhizomes that we collected in Myanmar werebrought back to the Smithsonian Institution’s Departmentof Botany Research Greenhouses in Washington, DC.The rhizomes were potted up and allowed to completetheir dormancy cycle. In May of the next year (and eachyear after that) the plants broke dormancy and flowered(Figures 1, 2). In 2008, they finally set seed (Figure 3),either due to natural visitation by bumble bees in thegreenhouses or as a result of hand-pollination by one ofus.The plants of Globba arracanensis are deciduouswith stems to 60 cm, arching and curving upward.Leaves are green up to 8 cm wide and 28 cm long, ovateelliptictapering to a thread-like tip. The inflorescence isterminal on the leafy shoots (Figure 1). Inflorescencebracts are persistent, starting green then maturing to apale white, while the bracteoles are persistent and lightlilac. The flared, almost petal-like lateral staminodes ofthe flowers are white to light lilac while the labellum isbifid, yellow and lilac with yellow tips, one crossingover the other (Figure 2). The petals are white to lightlilac, the floral tube is white, the filament white, and theanther light lilac with a darker almost purple tip. Thepollen is white. The fruits are pale green and the seedsare tan and pubescent with an aril (Figure 3). The plantsdo not produce bulbils in the axils of the inflorescencebracts. According to Kurz’s description the bracteoles,petals, lateral staminodes and filament were lilac in theplants he found. However, natural variation in color isquite common in globbas (especially in species withwhite and purple flowers) and we suspect that our plantsrepresent such natural variability from the type collection.Although Globba arracanensis is now known notto be extinct in its native habitat, the rapid degradationof the forests and natural habitats of Rakhine State suggestthat measures should be sought to insure the conservationof this and other species under threat in the region.Literature Cited:Kurz, W. S. 1870. On some new or imperfectly knownIndian plants. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal39: 61-91.Williams, K. J. 2003. The Systematics and PollinationBiology of the Genus Globba L. (Zingiberaceae).Ph.D. Dissertation, Duke University.Williams, K. J., W. J. Kress, and P. S. Manos. 2004.The Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of thegenus Globba and tribe Globbeae (Zingiberaceae):Appendages do Matter; American Journal of Botany91(1): 100–114.

PAGE THE BULLETIN 14 / JANUARY 2010 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2005 15132Photos: Leslie BrothersInflorescence of Globba arracanensis, with close-up of flower and fruit, cut open, showing arillate seeds inside.>Published byAbbeville PressIn the great tradition of Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle, this book is afirst-person narrative of daunting travel and scientific discovery in the littleknowncountry of Myanmar. Dr. Kress explored many areas in this enigmaticcountry, surveying its teak forests, bamboo thickets, timber plantations, rivers,and mangroves to document its incredible botanical diversity. Myanmar is oneof the great biodiversity “hot spots” in Asia, but because of its social isolationand reputation for political repression it has been closed to—or avoided by—many scientists. Nevertheless, Dr. Kress was determined to search for andrecord plants that had not been studied since they were first discovered byWestern botanists over a century ago. Among the rarities he came upon wasa new species of plant called “the weeping goldsmith,” a ginger flower whoseBurmese name was derived from the legend that the local goldsmiths werereduced to tears because none of their own creations could rival its exquisiteness.Dr. Kress also relates how he came to appreciate the people and cultureof Myanmar through an understanding of their flora, natural habitats, and human-dominated environments.Included are fascinating excerpts from his field journals that serve as counterpoints to the accounts of earlierplant explorers. Illustrating the text are some 200 of Dr. Kress’s own color photographs of the incredibleplants, people, landscapes, and temples he witnessed in his travels as well as 40 archival images of Burmataken by past explorers. The back matter features an illustrated portfolio of representative native plants.This lively armchair exploration should appeal to a general readership as well as to botanists, conservationists,and environmentalists.About the author: W. John Kress is a Curator of Botany and Research Scientist at the National Museum ofNatural History at the Smithsonian Institution. He is the co-author of A checklist of the trees, shrubs, herbs,and climbers of Myanmar and Plant Conservation – A Natural History Approach, and has written many botanicalarticles.

THE PAGE BULLETIN 16 / JANUARY 2005 THE BULLETIN / JANUARY PAGE 2010 19HSI XVI INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE SINGAPORE15 TH – 18 TH JULY 2010CALL FOR PAPERSPetronas Towers,Kuala LumpurPre-Conference Trip toMalaysia.11 th – 14 th July 2010Persons wishing to present papers or posters at the 16 th Heliconia Society InternationalConference in Singapore, 15 th – 18 th July 2010, should submit their topic tothe Selection Committee at admin@heliconia.org as soon as possible.Your submission should include an abstract (at least 100 words) of your talkby 15 January 2010.Topics to be covered should relate to any of the eight families of the order Zingiberalesand can include systematics, floriculture, propagation, plant pathology,travel/exploration, art, ethnobotany, ecology or any other pertinent area of research.Presentations are to be in English and should be 30 minutes long.Visual aids at the conference venue will be PowerPoint projectors.35mm slide projectors will be provided if required.Printed handouts will be the responsibility of the speaker.Following the conference, a manuscript suitable for publication in the HSI bulletinwill be greatly appreciatedRegister on ourwebsite:www.heliconia.orgConference inSingapore.15 th – 18 th July2010The Merlion,SingaporePost-Conference Trip toSarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).19 th – 27 th July 2010Notice of membership dues increase: Owing to the general increase in costs, particularlyprinting and postage, HSI reluctantly is obliged to increase membership fees. This increasewill come into force for renewals and new members from 1 July 2010.The new schedule will be: Regular members - $40; Family members - $45; Library members - $35;Students - $10 (unchanged). A new category will be introduced for members who are prepared toforego their printed Bulletin, and download it from the HSI Website: PDF members - $25.HSI Headquartersc/o Lyon Arboretum3860 Manoa RoadHonolulu, HI 96822 USA

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