Musa siamensis

The species is popular in horticulture both nationally and internationally (Häkkinen and Wallace 2007), so it is suspected that collection of wild plants could represent an ongoing threat. In Sa Kaeo province in Thailand, from which the sole wild collection was documented, only 22% of the land was naturally forested in 2010 (GFW 2019). However, the specific impact of deforestation on members of the Musa genus is somewhat difficult to quantify: while clear-felling or land conversion is likely to be detrimental to the species, wild bananas spring up in transient, often man-made, habitats and thus may benefit from human disturbance to some extent (Simmonds 1962). As no wild subpopulations of M. siamensis have been documented in any detail, it is challenging to evaluate the threats it may face. As a component of the necessary study into wild plants, research into the threats affecting the species will be required.

The genus Musa is listed in Annex I of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) which aims to guarantee sustainable agriculture and food security through the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use (FAO 2009). The only known wild collection was made outside a protected area (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019). There is one germplasm accession of wild origin held by the Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC) in Belgium (Ruas et al. 2017, Genesys Global Portal on Plant Genetic Resources 2019). Three botanical gardens are listed as sites of ex situ conservation for this species with a further garden holding a plant under the commercial name, "ThaiGold" (BGCI 2019). Given the seemingly precarious state of the wild population for this species, further collection of wild germplasm material is recommended to facilitate ex situ conservation efforts.