Lonely banana, specialty of Phuoc Binh National Park, Ninh Thuan province

Lonely banana – scientific name is Ensele Glaucum (Roxb) E. E Cheesman (Musa Glauca Rozb) is a specialty of Phuoc Binh National Park, about 75km west of Phan Rang – Thap Cham city, in Phuoc Binh commune. Bac Ai district, Ninh Thuan province.

This banana rarely flowers, the flower is very big green nuggets, has few fruits but many seeds. This is an interesting destination with an extremely diverse ecosystem, wild nature, and a system of winding rivers and streams that are precarious between rocky snouts, giving this place a wonderful and attractive natural picture. The banana tree is probably too familiar to Vietnamese people, but few people know about the lonely banana tree. The road to Phuoc Binh National Park has a lot of forest bananas on both sides. Bananas on the roadside, bananas on the mountainside, low places and high places, the leaves fluttering in the sky. Perhaps this area is suitable for bananas, so the trunk is 20-25cm big, 3-4m high, the chamber is 6-7 inches long, all fruits are round and fat. Standing from afar, I saw hundreds of banana flowers dangling bright red. It is said that bananas in Phuoc Binh supply the whole city of Phan Rang and are the main source of income for the Raglai people who are currently living in this area. Bananas here are called “lonely” bananas, with a lotus-shaped chamber, this type of banana only grows alone, not in clusters, so it is called “lonely banana”. Lonely banana trees (also known as seed bananas, orphan bananas) are different from other banana varieties: from banana stems to banana flowers and fruits, they are also very unique. Local people said, the strange thing of this banana variety from germination by seed to flowering chamber does not produce seedlings. When the fruit is ripe, the tree will wither and die. Lonely bananas are completely grown in the wild, the tree grows all year round. This banana tree only grows in high mountain areas, usually ripe seeds falling to the ground meet good conditions and the tree will grow, develop and bear fruit. From sprouting to fruit harvesting takes about 2-2.5 years. Lonely bananas are used to treat kidney disease, kidney stones, diabetes, back pain, joint pain, erectile dysfunction, enhance men’s health, cool down, stomach disease, ringworm, stimulate digestion, tonic. kidney, diuretic, treatment of poor appetite, poor sleep, fever, constipation, tonifying the body… People here take banana seeds soaked in wine to drink very delicious and fragrant and are very popular with tourists when coming here to enjoy. Visitors all say that this wine is very special, has the aroma of bananas without losing the taste of wine, when drinking once, you will remember it forever. Come once to Phuoc Binh National Park in Bac Ai district, Ninh Thuan province to enjoy this local “specialty”.