Did you know that the giant banana in the world is in Indonesia? Musa Ingens banana tree is the enormous banana in the world that grows in Arfak, West Papua mountains. The following is a full review of this unique banana tree.
Approximately 4-6 cm in diameter, this banana fruit tree produces bananas measuring up to 20 cm long. One bunch of bananas can weigh up to 60 kilograms. The size of bunches like bananas is generally about 35-50 cm in diameter and 70-80 cm in length.
The World’s Largest Banana Tree
Quoted from Indonesia.go.id website, the world’s most giant banana tree in the local language, residents of Banfot Village, Tambrouw Regency, West Papua call it Ndowin or Apit Sepoh. The height of this banana stem reaches 24 to 30 meters, equivalent to 6 to 7 times the banana tree in general.
The diameter of the Musa Ingens banana tree reaches 95 cm. Even some websites say that the diameter of the trunk of this banana tree can get one meter to two meters. On December 22, 1954, in New Guinea, Womersley JS and Simmonds NW gathered a specimen of this enormous banana. The bananas are preserved in the British Kew Herbarium as a spirit collection.
Generally, the midrib on an average banana tree is usually around 2.5 meters, while the Musa Ingens has a length of up to five meters with a width of about one meter. Residents use these banana leaves for roofs of makeshift houses in the forest, sitting mats, and food mats. While the midrib of the banana tree is used to store game or garden produce.
Never Eat Banana from Musa Ingens Carelessly
Charly Heatubun, Head of the Papua University Biodiversity Research Center explained that the tree has many benefits, from the leaves to the fruit. However, the fruit cannot be consumed carelessly or can only be eaten in a limited way because there are elements of hard and dense seeds in the fiber.
People in Papua mostly use bananas as a treatment and cure several kinds of diseases. In addition, some parts of the tree are also often used to make crafts.
“In addition, the midrib can be used as a craft material. Apart from being quite wide and 50 cm thick, the midrib is also quite strong,” he said.
It Only Grows in Forests with an Altitude of More than 1,000 Meters Above Sea Level
According to Hadi Warsito from BP2LHK Manokwari, this type of banana can only grow in the mountains at an altitude of 1,000-1,700 meters above sea level. Most of these areas are located in Papua’s highlands, such as Manokwari (Arfak Mountains Nature Reserve), Kaimana, Wondama Bay, and Fak-Fak (Central Fak-Fak Nature Reserve).
It includes Yapen Regency (Central Yapen Nature Reserve) and Tambrauw Regency (Banfot and Esyom Muara Kali Ehrin).
“This giant banana is also commonly found in secondary or ex-garden forests, with soil conditions with substrate or deep soil solum. He is intolerant of low temperatures,” he quoted from the Mongabay website.
The First Discovery of Musa Ingens
According to Kabartani.com, Womersley, JS, and Simmonds NW discovered the Musa Ingens banana on December 22, 1954, in the New Guinea region (Papua archipelago).
Later, the banana became a Herbarium spirit collection. Then in 1989, researcher Jeff Daniels also found it in the same area (currently Papua New Guinea). He was conducting genetic research on the plant at the time with funding from the International Council on Genetic Resources to preserve it.
