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MUSELLA LASIOCARPA is a naturally occuring dwarf banana species from high altitude Himalayan China, Burma, Vietnam and Laos (Most likely originating in Yunnan, China). Musella is thought to have originally evolved in the tropical jungles of the Himalayan region although it has been recorded growing at 7000ft (plus) above sea level, making this ancient and naturally occurring plant seriously cold, wind and drought hardy.
Musella lasiocarpa is a dwarf banana plant only reaching about 2mtrs in height (with foliage) and is shorter (only around 1mtr high) in full flower, at maturity. Musella lasiocarpa has a very stout rhizomatous trunk and beautiful 1-2 ft long broad, lanceolate, blue green leaves which provides good architectural foliage. Musella is a perennial and flowers at approx. the end of it's third or forth year. Musella is a natually occuring diploid and unlike many other bananas flowers upright. As it flowers it's leaves begin to die back. Small birds and nectar loving insects can see this gigantic flower from a mile away.
Nothing compares to Musella beginning to flower. It is so beautiful its shocking. Intensely bright yellow(almost fluro) framed by red bordering. It is at it's most striking following 4- 5 months of flowering. One never thinks its going to stop flowering once it starts. This plant will cheer up any garden, even when it does become too cold for tomatoes. It is almost like a King Protea flower but much bigger and much longer lasting.
Musella lasiocarpa is an extremely popular plant and has recently taken Europe by storm. The Europeans cannot believe that something so beautiful and tropical looking can be grown in some of their depressingly cold latitudes. It is a similar story in America. Unfortunately for America, however, is it seems their Musella trade is based on a few second rate seeds that entered America, possibly in the 1980s and so, when you look at most, if not all, of the photos of Musella in flower on websites in general particularly from America, they look diseased or not quite right. Perhaps the original seeds were genetically inbred or flawed in some way. Photos on this website are of an actual single Musella plant released by Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service(AQIS) into Sydney, Australia. It is easy to see the far superior flowering quality and beauty of the Musella lasiocarpa plant released into Sydney, Australia.
Musella lasiocarpa seeds are very difficult to germinate partly because they are recalcitrant and possibly because Musella without a heterozygous-rich wild population (where a healthy gene-pool can add that magic touch into progeny) produce second rate progeny which express inbreeding depression in some-way.
If you are in Australia and plan to buy inferior Musella seed from overseas you should know that not only will it be second rate and near impossible to germinate but highly illegal to import Bananas, Banana plants and Banana seeds into Australia and if you disregard Australian Law and import it anyway- without Government permission- and you happen to knowingly or unwittingly introduce a new banana disease, such as black Sigatoka or a new strain of Fusarium Wilt, you may land yourself in ‘deep- trouble’ with the Australian Authorities.
If you are in Australia and find the cost of the Sydney Musella plants too expensive you should be patient and wait till the price drops in approx. 3-10 years, rather than illegally importing inferior and possibly diseased Musella lasiocarpa.
The Australian release of Musella began with one single plant collected from it's epicentre of origin- the Himalayas. And not by seed but by wild speciman. It was tested for banana diseases using ELISA screening techniques by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service(AQIS) and the Department of Primary Industries-Queensland, and then following 4 years of isolation at AQIS Eastern Creek, ONLY ONE PLANT WAS RELEASED INTO SYDNEY. We have slowly built Musella numbers from that one single plant. And so, the availability of Musella lasiocarpa through us is subject to limited numbers at any one time. It has been a long wait but well worth it because in terms of disease this Musella has a 'crystal clean bill of health' and in terms of flower quality and beauty our Musella are far superior to most if not all what is available on the World-Wide-Web. If you decide to purchase Musella through us you will be receiving a direct clone of the single-ELISA TESTED Musella which spent 4 years in Quarantine isolation. The Musella pictures on this website were taken in Sydney, Australia following it's release.
