Musa ingens
The plant species Musa ingens, also known as the giant highland banana or Oem,[2] is the physically largest member of the family Musaceae and the only member of the section Ingentimusa. Growing in the tropical montane forests of New Guinea - Arfak Mountains Regency in Indonesia, its leaves can reach a length of 5 m (16 ft) and a width of 1 m (39 in).[3] This, the largest herbaceous plant on earth, was completely unknown to science prior to 1960.[2] DescriptionThe "trunk" (actually the tightly rolled petioles (or stalks) of its leaves; the longest petioles of any known plant) is typically up to 15 m (49 ft) in height, and with the leaves having a total height of 20 m (66 ft). Since its discovery in 1954, though, taller individuals up to 30 m (98 ft) have been reported,[4] but these measurements have yet to be confirmed by a specific scientific study. Photos exist of M. ingens "trunks" up to 94 cm (37 in) in diameter at breast height. Its fruit grows in a cluster weighing up to 60 kg (130 lb) consisting of about twenty "hands" (cymes) of 16 to 20 fruits each.[2] This cluster is borne on a peduncle up to 10 cm (4 in) thick and up to 15 m (49 ft) in length, again the longest of any known plant. The large inflorescence can hold over 300 oblong fruits, 18 cm (7 in) long, that are filled with blackish-brown seeds and yellowish pulp that is edible, sweet, and delicious when cooked, and according to some, reminiscent of fine butternut squash mixed with a sweet banana with a dash of tangy lime and citrus added.[5] References
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