Two new species of wild ornamental Musa (Musaceae) from Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India

Abstract

Two new species of ornamental banana, namely Musa siangensis Taid, S.S. Singh et Gajurel and Musa bracteata S.S. Singh, Gajurel et Taid collected in Arunachal Pradesh, India, are described. Morphologically, both the new species are close to Musa arunachalensis A. Joe, Sreejith et M. Sabu. Morphological characters are described and illustrated with colour photographs for easy recognition. A key to the closely related species and a table of comparison enumerating selected morphological characters are also provided. The new species are further supported by molecular rbcL sequence data.