Plantain (Musa x Paradisiaca )
Description
Musa × paradisiaca is the accepted name for the hybrid between Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Most cultivated bananas and plantains are triploid cultivars either of this hybrid or of M. acuminata alone. Linnaeus originally used the name M. paradisiaca only for plantains or cooking bananas, but the modern usage includes hybrid cultivars used both for cooking and as dessert bananas. Linnaeus's name for dessert bananas, Musa sapientum, is thus a synonym of Musa × paradisiaca. Almost all cultivated plantains and many cultivated bananas are triploid cultivars of M. × paradisiaca. It is believed that Southeast Asian farmers first domesticated M. acuminata. When the cultivated plants spread north-west into areas where M. balbisiana was native, hybrids between the two species occurred and were then developed further into a wide range of cultivars. Hundreds of cultivars of M. × paradisiaca are known, possessing characteristics that are highly variable, but broadly intermediate between the ancestral species. They are typically 2–9 metres (7–30 ft) tall when mature. The above-ground part of the plant is a "false stem" or pseudostem, consisting of leaves and their fused bases. Each pseudostem can produce a single flowering stem. After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots may develop from the base of the plant. Cultivars of M. × paradisiaca are usually sterile, without seeds or viable pollen.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class:
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Order: Zingiberales
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Family: Musaceae
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Genus: Zingiberales
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