Musa x paradisiaca

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. It conatins (-)-Salsolinol, Cyanidin 3-rutinoside, Pelargonidin 3-rutinoside, Peonidin 3-rutinoside, Vincanin B, Malvidin 3-rutinoside.

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.

Medicinal Properties and Uses:

Roots astringent, stomachic, used in severe stomachache, hepatitis, diabetes, strangury; sap of Hydrocotyle rotundifolia and root juice of Musa sapientum given for jaundice. Cooked flowers given in diabetes. Flowers used in headache. Sap and juice of the inflorescence-rachis given in bloody dysentery. Leaves used as hypoglycemic, and also to remove pus, sap from leaf and sheaths given for diarrhea; latex from leaves for wound healing, toothache; dry leaves ash to kill head lice. Unripe fruits for peptic ulcers and burns, stomachache, diarrhea and dysentery. Ripe fruit eaten for loose motions. Mimosa pudica roots, Musa sapientum peel, Drymaria cordata leafy twigs and Piper nigrum seeds ground together and made into pills given orally to pregnant women to cause abortion. Soft stem rubbed on millipede/multipede and snakebites, scorpion stings and wounds. Stem juice for otalgia. Young plants for sore throat. Veterinary medicine, fresh leaves given for diarrhea.

Common Names:

in English: apple banana, banana, cooking banana, eating banana, edible banana, French plantain, plantain, starch banana, sweet banana
in South America: banana, banana-de-são-tomé, banana-maçã, huainama, huessesse, imama, jotete, maccocco, maninha, masi, namidsadsa, omada, pirohua, potetera, ssapapa
in Bali: pusuh biu (pusuh = bud, biu = banana)
in China: hsiang chiao, kan chiao, pa chiao, da jiao
in India: baale, baale hannu, bale-hannu, balehannu, bale, balhla, bare, bhimkol, havubalai, havubale, kadala, kadalee, kadali, kala, kallubale, kanch-kala, kandu, kathabalai,in Congo: iko, leka
in East Africa: gonja, ikondo, isubi, kayinja, makondo,
matooke, mbidde, meome ya ikondo, moome a ikondo, musa, ndizi
in Yoruba: ogede abo, ogede agbagba, ogede dudu, ogede loboyo, ogede omini, ogede weere, ogedeapanta

Scientific Names (Synonyms):

• Karkandela × malabarica Raf.
• Musa × acutibracteata M.Hotta 
• Musa × aphurica Rumph. ex Sagot 
• Musa × bacoba Rottb. 
• Musa balbisiana var. vittata (W.Ackm. ex Rodigas) M.R.Almeida 
• Musa × berteroi Colla 
• Musa × bidigitalis De Wild. 
• Musa × champa Baker 
• Musa × chapara Perr. 
• Musa × chiliocarpa Backer ex K.Heyne 
• Musa × corbieri A.Chev. 
• Musa × corniculata Lour. 
• Musa × dacca Horan. 
• Musa × decrescens De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × decrescens var. pembuki De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × decrescens var. rubromaculata De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × decrescens var. viridis De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × discolor Planch. 
• Musa × emasculata De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × emasculata var. kiala De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × emasculata var. kimbende De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × emasculata var. lomba De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × emasculata var. zengani De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × maculata Jacq. 
• Musa × nigra Perr. 
• Musa × odorata Lour. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. acicularis G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. bende De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. bilul De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. champa (Baker) K.Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. cinerea Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. coarctata G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. compressa Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. coriacea G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. corniculata G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. dacca (Horan.) K.Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca f. dongila De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. exsicca G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. fatua G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca f. funu-nua De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. glaberrima Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. glauca Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca f. kilola De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. kitebbe De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. lacatan Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. longa Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. lunaris G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. magna Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. martabarica (Baker) K.Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. maxima Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. mensaria (Baker) K.Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. mensaria G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca subsp. normalis Kuntze 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. odorata (Lour.) K.Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. oleracea (Vieill.) K.Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. papillosa G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. punctata G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. purpurascens G.Forst.  
• Musa paradisiaca var. regia (Baker) K. Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. regia G.Forst.
• Musa × paradisiaca var. rubra (Firminger ex Baker) K.Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. sanguinea (Welw. ex Baker) K.Schum. 
• Musa × paradisiaca subsp. sapientum (L.) Kuntze 
• Musa paradisiaca subsp. sapientum (L.) Kuntze ex K. Schum. 
• Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum (L.) Kuntze 
• Musa × paradisiaca f. seluka De Briey ex De Wild.
• Musa × paradisiaca var. suaveolens Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. subrubea Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. ternatensis Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. tetragona G.Forst. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. tombak Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca f. tuba De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. ulnaris Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. violacea Blanco 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. viridis De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × paradisiaca var. vittata (W.Ackm. ex Rodigas) K.Schum. 
• Musa × protractorachis De Wild. 
• Musa × purpureotomentosa De Wild. 
• Musa × sapientum L. 
• Musa × sapientum var. americana N.G.Teodoro  
• Musa × sapientum var. baca Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. angao Quisumb.
• Musa × sapientum var. binutig N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. canara N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. canaya Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. champa (Baker) Baker 
• Musa × sapientum var. cinerea (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. compressa (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. cubensis N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. dacca (Horan.) Baker 
• Musa × sapientum var. daryao N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. dinalaga Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. dool Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum f. dubia Baker 
• Musa × sapientum var. dubia (Baker) A.M.Cowan & Cowan 
• Musa × sapientum var. eda Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. fieleto De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × sapientum var. flabellata Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. galatayan Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. garangao N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. glaberrima (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. glauca (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. grandis N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. humilis Merr. 
• Musa × sapientum var. inarnibal N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. kinamay Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. lacatan (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. longa (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. martabarica Baker 
• Musa × sapientum var. mensaria Baker 
• Musa × sapientum var. odorata (Lour.) Baker 
• Musa × sapientum var. padilat Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. pamotion Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. pelipia Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. principe Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. putian Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. raines Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. regia (G.Forst.) Baker 
• Musa × sapientum var. rubra Firminger ex Baker  
• Musa × sapientum var. sarocsoc Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. sanguinea Welw. ex Baker
• Musa × sapientum var. satama De Briey ex De Wild. 
• Musa × sapientum var. sision Quisumb. 
• Musa × sapientum var. suaveolens (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. ternatensis (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. tombak (Blanco) N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. tudlong N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. tuldoc N.G.Teodoro 
• Musa × sapientum var. violacea Baker 
• Musa × sapientum var. vittata (W.Ackm. ex Rodigas) Hook.f. 
• Musa × vittata W.Ackm. ex Rodigas