Consultation > Par auteur > Viboonjun U.

It has been over 60 years since the famous N.W. Simmonds' banana expedition to the tropics which included Thailand. Unfortunately, not many studies of the taxonomy of the banana family (Musaceae) have been carried out since then. Recently, the taxonomic status of the family has been reexamined and 15 native banana taxa from two genera, Musa L. and Ensete Bruce ex Horan. are reported here. Of these, two species, M. serpentina Swangpol & Somana and M. nanensis Swangpol & Traiperm, were newly published, respectively in 2011 and 2015. Two species, M. nagensium Prain and M. rosea Baker have not been seen lately and M. violascens Ridl. has been found only as a specimen, unlisted in the literature. Eight taxa have been introduced as ornamental plants and a cultivar of M. balbisiana Colla for its leaves. Due to difficulties in collecting, herbarium specimens of the bananas of the world and Thailand are scarce and incomplete. To fill gaps in our knowledge, more specimens have been collected and studied, and the results will be included in a revision of the Musaceae for the Flora of Thailand Project.