MUSA TEXTILIS
Musa textilis photo by BotGardBin.
Manila hemp
Local names: Abacá, Abaká (Guam, Philippines)
This plant has been introduced into Guam, and attempts were made to cultivate it on the island by several governors and the Sociedad Agrícola de la Conceptión, in 1867, during the administration of Don Francisco Moscoso y Lara. It grows well; a fine patch of it may still be seen on the border of the Ciénaga, near Matan-hanom, the source of the Agaña river. Stafford writes that the fiber requires too much work on the part of the natives. They have other plants suitable for cordage which require little trouble to prepare them for their uses. The cultivation of this species, though quite possible in Guam, has never been an industry of the island.
For more information, see Safford's Useful Plants of Guam, 2009 facsimile edition, pages 329-330.
Local names: Abacá, Abaká (Guam, Philippines)
This plant has been introduced into Guam, and attempts were made to cultivate it on the island by several governors and the Sociedad Agrícola de la Conceptión, in 1867, during the administration of Don Francisco Moscoso y Lara. It grows well; a fine patch of it may still be seen on the border of the Ciénaga, near Matan-hanom, the source of the Agaña river. Stafford writes that the fiber requires too much work on the part of the natives. They have other plants suitable for cordage which require little trouble to prepare them for their uses. The cultivation of this species, though quite possible in Guam, has never been an industry of the island.
For more information, see Safford's Useful Plants of Guam, 2009 facsimile edition, pages 329-330.