Gondwanaland Trading Company
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Dwarf Golden Lotus Banana

(Musella lasiocarpa)
Musella lasiocarpa

Musella lasiocarpa looks like it fell off a flying saucer and was left behind! With its short, swollen conical trunk-like pseudostems, and stiff, stocky paddle-like leaves, and distinctive lotus-like flowers (2-3 per plant) this plant just screams collector’s item! Gardeners grow this plant not for its fruit (which is small and inedible), but primarily for its flowers and to a lesser extent for its foliage, both of which lend an exotic and tropical feel to the landscape. Typically growing only 1 to 2 meters tall, it is commonly called Chinese dwarf banana or golden lotus banana, and is closely related to bananas, having been once included as a species in both Musa and Ensete. It is endemic to mountainous areas up to 7,500 feet in elevation in the Yunnan Province in China. Flowers bloom throughout the summer. Each upright inflorescence (8-12" long terminal panicle) consists of a cluster of yellow tubular flowers subtended by broad, stiff, waxy, yellow bracts. Flowers resemble a lotus just prior to flowering, hence the common name of golden lotus banana. Flowers usually first appear in the second year of growth and annually thereafter. Each inflorescence will last for several months (up to as long as 6 months). Flowers are reminiscent of those found on king protea (Protea cynaroides). Flowers are followed by inedible fruit (to 2" long) which often does not appear on plants grown in the northern parts of the growing range. We offer this unique plant in one gallon containers while supplies last!

Dwarf Golden Lotus Banana

$64.99 Sale! $54.99