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edible banana

banana family

Leaves

basal, in several ranks, differentiated into basal sheath, petiole, and blade;

sheaths overlapping, forming unbranched pseudostem, open, ligule absent;

summit of petiole not differentiated;

blade with lateral veins parallel, diverging from prominent midrib.

Petioles

margins of adaxial groove erect, winged proximally.

Inflorescences

pedicels short;

bracts of staminate flowers lanceolate or narrowly ovate, apex acute, abaxial surface yellow, red, or dull purple, adaxial surface yellow proximally, often yellow or dull purple distally.

1 per aerial shoot, projecting from tip of pseudostem, pedunculate racemes of 12–20-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni);

bracts of main axis enclosing cincinni.

Flowers

unisexual (proximal flowers pistillate, distal flowers staminate), bilaterally symmetric;

sepals and petals differentiated, sepals 3, petals 3, 3 sepals and 2 petals fused, remaining petal distinct;

fertile stamens 5(–6), not petal-like;

anthers 2-locular; occasionally 1 rudimentary staminode;

ovary inferior, 3-carpellate, 3-locular, all locules fertile;

placentation axile;

ovules many per locule;

style terminal, filiform;

stigma 3-lobed.

Staminate flowers

white or cream.

Pistillate flowers

stigmas deep yellow or orange; each locule with 2 regular rows of ovules.

Fruits

berries;

sepals not persistent in fruit.

Seeds

aril absent;

endosperm copious;

perisperm copious;

embryo straight.

Pseudostems

heavily blotched with brown or black.

Treelike

herbs, perennial, from corm [rhizome] [corm].

True

aerial stems absent.

x

= 9, 10, 11.

Musa acuminata

Musaceae

Phenology Flowering all year.
Habitat Abandoned gardens and disturbed sites
Elevation 0–10 m (0–0 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; and South America; native; s Asia; Africa; Pacific Islands (; Oceania); native; s Asia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
tropical parts of Africa; Asia; Australia; and Oceania; often persisting around gardens and plantations throughout the wet tropics [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Genera 3, species ca. 40 (1 genus, 1 species, and 1 stable hybrid in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22, p. 302. Author: Alan T. Whittemore.
Parent taxa Musaceae > Musa
Sibling taxa
M. paradisiaca
Subordinate taxa
Synonyms M. cavendishii
Name authority Colla: Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino 25:66. (1820) A. L. Jussieu
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