HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Fe'i bananas (also spelt Fehi or Féi) are cultivated plants in the
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Musa Musa may refer to: Places * Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran *Musa, Kerman, Iran * Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaija ...
'', used mainly for their fruit. Unlike most other cultivated bananas they are
diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...
s of the AA-type. They are very distinct in appearance and origin from the majority of bananas and
plantains Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...
currently grown. Found mainly in the islands of the Pacific, particularly French Polynesia, Fe'i bananas have skins which are brilliant orange to red in colour with yellow or orange flesh inside. They are usually eaten cooked and have been an important food for
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
s, moving with them as they migrated across the ocean. Most are high in ''beta''-carotene (a precursor of
vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably bet ...
). The
botanical name A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Intern ...
for Fe'i bananas is ''Musa'' × ''troglodytarum'' L. Precisely which wild species they are descended from is unclear.


Description

Fe'i bananas are cultivated varieties (
cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
s), rather than wild forms. They are distinctly different from the much more common bananas and
plantains Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...
derived from ''
Musa acuminata ''Musa acuminata'' is a species of banana native to South Asia, Southern Asia, its range comprising the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Many of the modern edible dessert bananas are from this species, although some are hybrids with ''Mus ...
'' and ''
Musa balbisiana ''Musa balbisiana'', also known simply as plantain, is a wild-type species of banana. It is one of the ancestors of modern cultivated bananas, along with '' Musa acuminata''. Description It grows lush leaves in clumps with a more upright habit t ...
''. All members of the
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Musa Musa may refer to: Places * Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran *Musa, Kerman, Iran * Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaija ...
'' are tall
herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...
s, typically around tall or even more. Although they appear tree-like, the "trunk" is actually a
pseudostem A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrie ...
, formed from the tightly wrapped bases of the leaves. At maturity each pseudostem produces a single flowering stem that grows up inside it, eventually emerging from the top. As it elongates, female flowers appear which go on to form fruit – the bananas. Finally male flowers are produced. In cultivated bananas, the fruit is usually seedless and the male flowers sterile. Fe'i bananas can be distinguished from other kinds of cultivated bananas and plantains in a number of ways. They have highly coloured
sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
, pink through to bright magenta and dark purple. The
bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s of the flowering spike (
inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
) are bright shiny green rather than dull red or purple. The flowering and fruiting stem is more or less upright (rather than drooping), so that the bunches of bananas are also upright. Ripe fruit has brilliant orange, copper-coloured or red skin with orange or yellow flesh inside. It has prominent ridges, making it squarish in cross-section.


Taxonomy

As with many names in the genus ''Musa'', considerable confusion has existed as to the proper
botanical name A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Intern ...
, if any, for Fe'i bananas. Some authorities have preferred to treat Fe'i bananas as a formal or informal cultivar group rather than employing a Latin
binomial Binomial may refer to: In mathematics *Binomial (polynomial), a polynomial with two terms * Binomial coefficient, numbers appearing in the expansions of powers of binomials *Binomial QMF, a perfect-reconstruction orthogonal wavelet decomposition ...
, using names like ''Musa'' (Fe'i Group) 'Utafan'. One of the earliest detailed accounts of the genus ''Musa'' was by the German-Dutch botanist Georg E. Rumpf (c.1627–1702), usually known by the Latinized name Rumphius. His ''Herbarium amboinensis'' was published in 1747, after his death. His figure and description of a "species" under the name "''Musa Uranoscopos''" (meaning "heaven-looking banana") is consistent with a Fe'i banana; he refers to the upright flowering spike (although the figure, reproduced here, shows the terminal bud drooping), the coloured sap, and the effect of consumption on urine. However, the starting point for botanical names is the publication of
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
' ''
Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...
'' in 1753, so "''Musa uranoscopos''" is not an acceptable name. In the second edition of ''Species Plantarum'', Linnaeus lumped together Rumphius' ''Musa uranoscopos'' and ''Musa'' 'Pissang Batu' under the name ''Musa troglodytarum'', in spite of the fact that Rumphius had noted several distinctions between the two. Linnaeus' treatment has been described as "beyond understanding". In 1917, Merrill designated the illustration of Rumphius' ''Musa uranoscopos'' as the
lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...
of ''Musa troglodytarum'' L. On this basis, Häkkinen, Väre and Christenhusz concluded in 2012 that "all Fe'i cultivars, including those featured in
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...
's famous paintings, should be treated under the name ''M. troglodytarum'' L." Other sources also accept this as the scientific name for the group as a whole – for example
Rafaël Govaerts Rafaël Herman Anna Govaerts (born 1968) is a Belgian botanist. He is particularly noted for his work on plant taxonomy. He has worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew since the 1990s, and is the principal contributor to the World Checklist of ...
in 2004. The name may be written as ''M.'' × ''troglodytarum'' to stress the hybrid origin of Fe'i bananas.
Synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of ''M. troglodytarum'' are: *"''M. uranoscopos''" Rumphius (1747) – published before 1753, so not an acceptable name *''M. uranoscopos'' Lour. (1790) – a superfluous name because it was provided as an alternative name to Linnaeus', hence illegitimate; Loureiro's description is based on a different plant, '' M. coccinea'' *''M. uranoscopos'' Colla (1820) – superfluous and hence illegitimate *''M. uranoscopos'' Mig. (1855) – superfluous and hence illegitimate *''M. uranoscopos'' Seem. (1868) – superfluous and hence illegitimate *''M. seemannii'' Mueller (1875) – superfluous and hence illegitimate *''M. fehi'' Bertero ex Vieillard (1862) Whereas most cultivated bananas and plantains are derived from species in ''Musa'' section ''Musa'', Fe'i bananas are clearly part of section ''Callimusa'' (in particular the species formerly grouped as section ''Australimusa''). However, their precise origins are unclear. On the basis of appearance (morphology), ''
Musa maclayi ''Musa maclayi'' is a species of seeded banana native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It is placed in section ''Callimusa'' (now including the former section ''Australimusa''). It is regarded as one of the progenitors of the Fe'i ba ...
'', native to
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, has been proposed as a parent. More recent genetic studies suggest they are close to '' M. lolodensis'' and '' M. peekelii'', both from New Guinea and neighbouring islands. Fe'i bananas may be hybrids between several different wild species. They are generally considered to have originated in New Guinea and then to have been spread eastwards and northwards (as far as the
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
) for use as food. A few cultivars have been found which appear to be intermediate between Fe'i bananas and the more common ''Musa'' section ''Musa'' bananas and plantains. Although the part of the stem holding the fruit is upright, the rest of the stem then bends over so that the terminal bud faces sideways or downwards. An example is the cultivar 'Tati'a' from
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
. Molecular analysis of bananas with this growth habit from Papua New Guinea has shown evidence of genetic input from '' M. acuminata'' and '' M. balbisiana'', the parents of the section ''Musa'' cultivars. Rumphius' illustration of his "''Musa uranoscopos''" shows the same morphology, although this might be artistic license.


Distribution

Fe'i bananas are mainly found from the
Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...
in the west to French Polynesia in the east, particularly the
Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
and the
Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in ...
. They have been important both as a staple and as a ceremonial food, although their cultivation and use has sharply declined in recent decades. As the
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
s spread by canoe throughout the Pacific, they took Fe'i bananas with them; cultivation has been traced back to around 250 BC in the Marquesas and to around 800 AD in
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
in the Society Islands. They are believed to have originated in the New Guinea area, where cultivars with seeds occur, as do the wild species from which they are thought to be descended.


Cultivars

Fe'i bananas are not in commercial cultivation. There are lists of cultivars for different islands, but it is not clear whether these are synonyms, with the same cultivar being known by different names in different locations and languages. Further, it is not clear whether local names apply to cultivars (i.e. distinct cultivated varieties) or to broader groups. Thus Ploetz et al. refer to a banana found in eastern Indonesia by the cultivar name 'Pisang Tongkat Langit'. However, ''pisang tongkat langit'' can be translated as "sky stick banana" or "heaven cane banana", corresponding to Rumphius' name ''Musa uranoscopos'' (heaven-gazing banana). ''Pisang tongkat langit'' is treated by other sources as referring to ''M.'' × ''troglodytarum'' as a whole rather than to a single cultivar. Significant genetic variation has been reported among bananas from the Moluccas for which this name is used. The list below is selective; where many names are given in sources, it concentrates on those with the most description available. * Federated States of Micronesia, particularly Pohnpei: :
Karat The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardne ...
type cultivars :*'Karat Kole' or 'Karat Pwono' – round-shaped banana, flesh orange-yellow :*'Karat Pako' – longer banana, skin rough, flesh orange-yellow :*'Karat Pwekhu' – smaller banana, flesh orange-yellow :Utin Iap type cultivars :*'Utin Iap' or 'Uht En Yap' – cone-shaped bunch, small bananas, flesh orange :*'Utimwas' – small bananas, flesh orange * Solomon Islands: ** 'Aibwo' or 'Suria' – ripe skin orange; flesh yellow-orange ** 'Fagufagu' – ripe skin orange, flesh yellow-orange ** 'Gatagata' or 'Vudito' – ripe skin orange-brown, flesh yellow-orange ** 'Toraka Parao' – ripe skin red; flesh yellow-orange ** 'Warowaro' – ripe skin brown; flesh yellow *Indonesia: ** 'Pisang Tongkat Langit' or 'Pisang Ranggap' *Papua New Guinea: ** 'Menei', 'Rimina', 'Utafan', 'Sar', 'Wain' *New Caledonia: ** 'Daak' *Fiji: ** 'Soaqa' *Society Islands: ** 'Fe'i Aiuri', 'Fe'i Tatia' *Hawai'i: ** 'Borabora', 'Polapola', 'Mai'a Ha'i'


Use


As food

Fe'i bananas are generally eaten as "plantains", i.e. they are usually cooked rather than eaten raw. They have been described as "delicious and nutritious when baked or boiled, especially if the slices are swathed in fresh coconut cream." They have also been described as "unpleasantly astringent" unless cooked, having higher proportions of starch and lower proportions of sugar than other kinds of banana. However, in the
Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...
, some cultivars, particularly 'Karat Pwehu', 'Karat Pako' and to a lesser extent 'Utin Iap' (='Uht En Yap'), are commonly eaten raw when fully ripe.
Karat banana Karat bananas are local cultivars of Fe'i banana found in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. The name originates from their bright orange flesh, unusually rich in β-carotene. They are often treated as a single cultivar, i.e. a distinct cul ...
s have a soft texture and a sweet taste and were a traditional weaning food in the Micronesian island of
Pohnpei Pohnpei "upon (''pohn'') a stone altar (''pei'')" (formerly known as Ponape or Ascension, Proto-Chuukic-Pohnpeic: ''*Fawo ni pei)'' is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to Pohnpei ...
. In countries where Fe'i bananas were once a major food item, there has been a shift away from eating traditional foods towards eating imported foods. Bananas with whiter flesh are preferred over traditional varieties with deeply coloured flesh. One issue with Fe'i bananas is that eating them causes the production of yellow coloured urine, thought to be caused by the excretion of excess riboflavin present in the fruit. This effect led people to believe that Fe'i bananas might not be safe to eat, particularly for children. Along with the shift away from traditional foods, there has been a rise in
vitamin A deficiency Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) or hypovitaminosis A is a lack of vitamin A in blood and tissues. It is common in poorer countries, especially among children and women of reproductive age, but is rarely seen in more developed countries. Nyctalopia (ni ...
. Fe'i bananas with deeper coloured flesh have been shown to contain high levels of ''beta''-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. A year-long promotional campaign in Pohnpei in 1999 to encourage the consumption of Karat cultivars had some success in increasing sales. Levels of ''beta''-carotene vary considerably among Fe'i bananas. In a study of traditional
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
cultivars, the highest level of ''beta''-carotene found in a Fe'i cultivar was almost 6,000 µg per 100 g of flesh compared to the highest level of 1,300 µg in a non-Fe'i cultivar. However, there was an overlap; some Fe'i cultivars contained less ''beta''-carotene than non-Fe'i cultivars.


Other uses

Fe'i banana plants have many other uses. Like other kinds of banana, the leaves may be used as plates or containers for cooked food. They can also be used as a roofing material, particularly for temporary huts. The fibres of the midrib of the leaves can be used to make ropes, often used to carry bunches of bananas. Other fibrous parts of the leaves can be dried and plaited into mats and similar items. The pseudostems are buoyant, and so can be used to make temporary rafts. Fe'i bananas have distinctive reddish sap which does not readily fade on exposure to light. It is used as a dye, and has also been used to make ink.


Historical reports

The early European explorers of the Pacific islands produced a few accounts of Fe'i bananas. In 1768,
Daniel Solander Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil. Biography ...
accompanied
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
on James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific Ocean aboard the '' Endeavour''. In the account he published later, he noted five kinds of banana or plantain called "Fe'i" by the Tahitians. William Ellis lived in the Society Islands in the 1850s. He refers to the name "Fe'i", saying that Fe'i bananas were the principal food for the inhabitants of some islands. He also noted that Fe'i banana plants have an upright fruit cluster.
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
visited Tahiti in the Society Islands in 1835 and gave an account in ''
The Voyage of the Beagle ''The Voyage of the Beagle'' is the title most commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his ''Journal and Remarks'', bringing him considerable fame and respect. This was the third volume of ''The Narrative ...
''. Although he does not mention the name "Fe'i", he does speak of the "mountain-banana": "On each side of the ravine there were great beds of the mountain-banana, covered with ripe fruit. Many of these plants were from twenty to twenty-five feet high, and from three to four in circumference." Fe'i bananas have been noted to grow best in Tahiti on slopes at the base of cliffs. Laurence H. MacDaniels published a study of the Fe'i banana in 1947. He reported that Fe'i bananas were the staple
carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
food of the Society Islanders, and that more than 95% of the bananas on sale were of the Fe'i type. Although some Fe'i banana plants were found in gardens, most bananas were gathered from the "wild", thought to have been planted in the past and abandoned.


In culture

Fe'i bananas are an important component of ceremonial feasts in the Marquesas and the Society Islands. Karat bananas are reported to be one of the few kinds of banana that can be used in ceremonial presentations in Pohnpei, Micronesia. A Samoan legend is that the mountain banana and the lowland banana fought. The mountain banana – the Fe'i banana – won. Filled with pride at its victory, the mountain banana raised its head high, whereas the defeated lowland banana never raised its head again. (Fe'i bananas have an upright fruiting stem, whereas the fruiting stem droops in other kinds of banana.) The bright orange-red colours of Fe'i bananas make them attractive to artists. The French Post-Impressionist painter
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...
visited the
Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
, including
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
, towards the end of the 19th century. Three of his works include what are considered to be Fe'i bananas: ''Le Repas'' (The Meal, 1891), ''La Orana Maria'' (Hail Mary, 1891) and ''Paysage de Tahiti'' (Tahitian Landscape, 1891). Fe'i bananas were one of the main staples of Liv Coucheron-Torpand and
Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000& ...
during their one-and-a-half-year stay on the Marquesan island of
Fatu-Hiva Fatu-Hiva (the "H" is not pronounced, see name section below) is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbor, it is also the m ...
in 1937–38. Heyerdahl reported that Fe'i bananas grew all around their cabin on Fatu-Hiva, while on
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
they had only seen Fe'i bananas growing "in almost inaccessible cliffs."


Conservation

Fe'i banana cultivars, along with other Pacific crop propagation material, have been saved at the
Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees The Pacific Community's Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT), formerly known as the Regional Germplasm Centre (RGC), is a propagation material vault operated by the Pacific Community (SPC)'s Land Resources Division. Its purpose is to preser ...
(CePaCT), which catalogs living plants of the Pacific region for conservation. More than 100 samples of Fe'i bananas were collected in French Polynesia, from isolated farms on six different islands. The samples will be conserved in a gene bank in Tahiti, with duplicates kept at CePaCt.


See also

*
Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia One of the major human migration events was the maritime settlement of the islands of the Indo-Pacific by the Austronesian peoples, believed to have started from at least 5,500 to 4,000 BP (3500 to 2000 BCE). These migrations were accompanied ...


Notes


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3067814 Fe'i Staple foods Polynesian cuisine Tropical agriculture Tropical fruit