It is impossible to give a satisfactory account of the nomenclature of the cultivated bananas. Two of the earliest specific epithets Musa paradisiacal and Musa sapientumn are cultivars derived from hybrids. Many authors believe that the only way out of the confusion is to disregard latin names altogether and a species-concept, and use only clonal or cultivar names. However, for the purposes of this flora account I have used the “blanket” name Musa paradisiacal to cover the Pakistan cultivated bananas-even though at least some of the cultivars have probably been derived from other sources. A full account of bananas and plantains is given by Simmonds N. W. The evolution of Bananas. London. 1962., Bananas, ed.2. London. 1966.

The two wild species from which the cultivated bananas have been derived are SE. Asiatic Musa acuminate Colla and Musa balbisiana Colla.

Some of the cultivars grown in Pakistan are:-‘China’, ‘Champa’ and ‘Chitri’. A good quality banana ‘Sindhi’ is extensively cultivated in Sind. Common name: Banana.

Plants of Musa ´ paradisiaca combine the characters of the two parents, M. acuminata and M. balbisiana, in various ways. Musa acuminata is described above. In M. balbisiana, the blotching on the pseudostem is pale or absent, the margins of the adaxial groove of the petiole are incurved and not winged; the peduncle is glabrous, the pedicels are long, the bracts of staminate flowers are ovate and obtuse, widest at least 0.3 above the base, with the outer surface brownish purple and the inner surface uniformly bright crimson; the apex remains plane when bract spreads, and the bract scars are not very prominent. The flowers are often tinged with pink, the free tepal of the staminate flower is always plane, and the ovules are in 4 irregular rows per locule. The description of M. ´ paradisiaca is based on plants with the AAB genome, by far the commonest hybrid bananas in cultivation. For data on characteristics of various other strains of banana, see N. W. Simmonds and K. Shepherd (1955).

The species is grown for its edible fruit.

Tree-like herb, up to 9 m in height. Leaf sheaths tubular, forming a thick trunk. Leaf blade c. 1.5 m, oblong, usually ragged in appearance, splitting between the transverse parallel veins. Spike c. 1 m, drooping. Peduncle thick. Bracts opening in succession, 15-20 cm, ovate, concave, dark red, somewhat fleshy. Outer tepals 22-24 mm, 5-toothed, fleshy, tinged pink. Inner tepals 19-20 mm, ovate, acute, concave. Stamens 5. Fruit oblong, fleshy. (In the wild form 5-7 cm with seed; seedless and longer in the cultivated varieties.)

Pseudostems moderately blotched. Petioles: margins of adaxial groove erect to incurved, ± winged proximally. Inflorescences: pedicels rather long; bracts of staminate flowers lanceolate to ovate, apex acute to broadly acute, abaxial surface purple, adaxial surface reddish purple or crimson. Stam inate flowers white, cream, or pink. Pistillate flowers: stigmas usually yellow; each locule with usually 2 ± regular rows of ovules.

Pseudostems clumped, pruinose, 3--7 m. Leaves erect or ascending; petiole pruinose, more than 30 cm, margin closed; leaf blade adaxially deep green, abaxially light green and distinctly pruinose, oblong, 1.5--3 m × 40--60 cm, base subcordate to auriculate, subsymmetric, apex acute. Inflorescence pendulous; rachis glabrous. Bracts adaxially deep red, abaxially purple, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 15--30 cm or more, deciduous. Flowers in 2 rows in each bract; male flowers with tepals yellow to pale yellow. Compound tepal 4--6.5 cm; free tepal suborbicular to oblong, ca. 1/2 as long as compound tepal, waxy, apex acuminate or rolling into a sac. Infructescence with 7 or 8 clusters of berries. Berries erect or slightly curved, oblong, 10--20 cm, angled; pulp sweet or sweet and acidic, not very fragrant; stalk elongate. Seeds absent or few. 2 n = 33.

Distribution: Cultivated throughout the tropics.

introduced; Fla.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; South America; Africa; Asia; Pacific Islands (Oceania).

Fr. Per.: Summer months.

Flowering all year.

Abandoned gardens and disturbed sites; 0--20m.

Cultivated. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [native to tropical Asia, widely cultivated in the tropics].

Musa sapientum Linnaeus

Musa ( paradisiaca subsp. sapientum (Linnaeus) Kuntze; M. sapientum Linnaeus.