We are going to look at the botanical name of the banana today. Stay calm and read through. You will find out some things you’ve not heard of before about bananas here in this article. So let’s get started. Firstly, what is a banana?
What is a Banana
A banana is a yellow, curved fruit with a thick skin and delicious, soft flesh. A banana is a tropical fruit that is widely consumed around the world. It grows in bunches on its tree.
Botanical description of bananas
Musa acuminaia, Musa balbisiana, and Musa paradisiaca (a hybrid of Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana) are the most commonly farmed bananas. The cultivated banana is sometimes referred to as Musa x paradisiaca (Musaceae) in botanical texts, although it is actually a complicated hybrid of two diploid Asian species, Musa acuminata, and Musa balbisiana. Musa acuminata is a plant native to the Malay Peninsula and surrounding areas that is thought to have given origin to all edible banana variants in whole or in part. Musa balbisiana can be found from India to the tropical Pacific Ocean. This hybridization most likely occurred as Musa acuminata plants (2n genome = AA) became more widely cultivated across Musa balbisiana’s (2n genome = BB) distributional area. Although the Musa acuminata cultivars were sterile because they were seedless, they did produce fertile pollen.
The banana is the world’s biggest herbaceous blooming plant, with all of its upper parts sprouting from a corm-like structure.
It has a pseudostem (false stem) that looks like a trunk.
The banana plant is a massive herb that grows from an underground stem to build a 3–6 meter (10–20 foot) tall fake trunk.
This trunk is made up of the basal regions of leaf sheaths and is crowned by a rosette of 10 to 20 oblong to elliptic leaves that can grow to be 3–3.5 meters (10–11.5 feet) long and 65 cm wide (26 inches). A large flower spike, carrying numerous yellowish flowers protected by large purple-red bracts, emerges at the top of the false trunk and bends downward to become bunches of 50 to 150 individual fingers.
The individual bananas are grouped in clusters, or hands, of 10 to 20. After a plant has fruited, it is cut down to the ground, because each trunk produces only one bunch of fruit.
What is the Botanical Name of Banana
The Botanical Name of Banana is Musa spp.
Why is the Botanical Name of Banana Musa spp
Because there are different varieties of banana and each has its own botanical name.
Characteristics of a banana
- It is an Angiosperms
- It is a Monocots
- Kingdom: Plantae
- It belongs to the Commelinids
- Order: Zingiberales
- Family: Musaceae
- Genus: Musa
Types/Species of Bananas
It’s wonderful to discover new banana varieties you weren’t aware of. You might wish to try these twelve (12) different types of bananas.
- Cavendish Banana
- Red Banana
- Plantain
- Hairy Banana
- Scarlet Banana
- Abacá Banana
- Fe’i Banana
- Lady Finger Banana
- Blue Java
- Pisang Raja Banana
- Gold Finger Banana
- Barangan Banana
Varieties of Banana and their Botanical Names
- Cavendish Banana – The botanical name for the Cavendish banana is Musa acuminata
The Cavendish banana is the “typical” banana found in the market or at the farmer’s market. They have a creamy texture and are mildly sweet. They ripen at different stages, from green to yellow to yellow with brown spots. They’re grown all over Central America, and their production is vital to the local economies.
- Red Banana – The Botanical Name of the Red Banana is Musa acuminata
Red bananas have a reddish-purple skin, as their name suggests. They feature a light pink flesh than Cavendish bananas and are significantly sweeter and softer. They also have a subtle raspberry flavor that makes them impossible to resist.
- Plantain – The botanical name of plantain is Musa paradisiaca
Plantains, also known as cooking bananas, are a subgroup of bananas. They are typically used in savory dishes due to their high starch content. They aren’t usually eaten raw. In West and Central Africa, the Caribbean islands, and Central America, they’re a staple diet.
- Hairy banana – The botanical name of the Hairy Banana is Musa velutina
The hairy banana, sometimes known as the pink banana, is a diploid wild banana species. Assam and the eastern Himalayas are the origins of these plants. It is commonly planted as an aesthetic plant, but it possesses edible soft, sweet flesh.
- Scarlet banana – The botanical name of the Scarlet Banana is Musa coccinea.
Scarlet banana, also known as red-flowering banana, is a flowering plant belonging to the banana and plantain family Musaceae that is native to tropical China (Guangdong, Guangxi, and southeastern Yunnan) and Vietnam. It’s a bat-pollinated evergreen perennial with a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20 that belongs to the section Callimusa (which now includes the former section Australimusa).
- Abacá Banana – The botanical name of the abacá Banana is Musa textilis
It is a banana species native to the Philippines that is grown commercially in the Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. The plant, also known as Manila hemp, is very important economically since it is collected for its fiber, which is taken from the leaf stems.
- Fe’i Banana – The botanical name of the Fe’i banana is Musa troglodytarumare
They are Musa genus cultivated plants used mostly for their fruit. They are AA-type diploids, unlike most other cultivated bananas. They are unlike the bulk of bananas and plantains now farmed in terms of appearance and provenance. Mostly found on Pacific islands, particularly in French Polynesia. The skins of Fe’i bananas are bright orange to crimson in color, with yellow or orange flesh inside.
- Lady Finger Banana – The botanical name of the Lady Finger banana is Musa acuminata
Cavendish bananas are sweeter and smaller than Lady Finger bananas, sometimes known as baby bananas. They’re about three inches long and have a creamy texture as well as a sweet flavor with notes of honey.
- Blue Java Banana – The botanical name of Blue Java is a hybrid of Musa acuminata x Musa balbisiana
Blue Java banana is a hybrid of Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Because of their sweet vanilla flavor and extraordinary creaminess, blue Java bananas are also known as ice cream bananas. They have a lovely blue peel with white flesh. They’re actually quite robust and can thrive in even the coldest climates.
- Pisang Raja banana – The botanical name of the Pisang Raja banana is Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana (AAB Group)
In Indonesia, Pisang Raja bananas are quite popular. They have a golden to orange color and a smooth and creamy consistency, tasting like honey-flavored custard. They’re a little smaller than Cavendish Bananas, with a length of four to six inches.
- Goldfinger Banana – Musa acuminata × balbisiana (AAAB Group).
A group of scientists in Honduras first grew the Goldfinger banana as a pest-resistant banana. When it’s green, it can be cooked, and when it’s fully ripe, it can be eaten raw. It’s similar to the Cavendish banana, with the goal of eventually replacing the disease-prone species.
- Barangan Banana – Musa × Paradisiaca
The Barangan banana has a sweet, moderate flavor and is yellow with little black spots. The meat is white and devoid of seeds. It’s a popular kind that’s served as a dessert in many tropical places.
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