Banana, Hybrid plantains
Musa x paradisiaca

Family: Musaceae

What it is like

These are the main group of cultivated bananas. They can be classed into diploid, triploid and tetraploid kinds with various amounts of the A or B parents. They grow 2-9 m high. They are large non woody herbs with broad long leaves. Most kinds have several suckers. Bananas grow a soft firm false stem from an underground corm. The fruiting stalk eventually emerges from the top of this false stem and normally curves over pointing towards the ground. Fruit occur in clumps or hands along this stem. The male flowers are in a red bud at the end of the flower stalk. The colour of the stem, bracts, bud and fruit varies considerably depending on the variety. The fruit can be 6-35 cm long depending on variety. They can also be 2.5-6 cm across.

There are about 30 Musa species.

Where it is found

A tropical and subtropical plant. They grow from sea level up to about 2000 m altitude in the tropics. They are rarely an important food above about 1600 m. In Nepal they grow to about 1800 m altitude. They do best in warm and humid tropical climates. Temperatures need to be above 15°C. The best temperature is 27°C. The maximum temperature is 38°C. Bananas grow best in full sun. For best growth, a rainfall of 200-220 mm per month is needed. A deep friable soil is best. They can tolerate a pH between 4.5-7.5. It is moderately salt tolerant. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Amazon, American Samoa, Andamans, Andes, Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bougainville, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caroline Islands, Caucasus, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, China, Chuuk, Colombia, Congo DR, Congo R, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, French Polynesia, FSM, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Laos, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Middle East, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Reunion, Rotuma, Rwanda, Sahel, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Turks & Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, West Papua, West Timor, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Fruit are eaten raw or cooked depending on variety. Male buds and flowers are eaten on some varieties. They are cooked as a vegetable. The central pith of the false stem and the underground rhizome are also sometimes eaten. The corm is boiled, dried and eaten with the false stem. (It has little food value)

The major food in many areas of the moist lowland tropics and an important supplement in most areas. It is widely cultivated.

Edible parts

Fruit, flowers, vegetable, stalk, corm, root, bud

How it is grown

They are planted from sword suckers. Diploids need re-planting annually but many triploids can be re-suckered from the base on the same site. Spacing depends on variety. A spacing of 1000-3000 plants per hectare is used depending on variety. Suckers are usually put 30 cm deep.

Time to maturity varies from 6 to 18 months depending on variety and altitude. Triploids have larger bunches than diploids. Tetraploids are very large plants.

Its other names

Local names

Ai, Amenvu, Anajee kola, Ayaba, Banano, Boga coye, Cardaba, Cheek nam' vaa, Chuoi, Diyr, Ebred, Fai, Futi, Ga, Gai'i, Guineo, Haki, Hakua, Hale, He, Hie, Hopa, Ih, Ihi, Is, It'ath, Jaina, Jantung pisang, Jattung pisang, Kai, Kaka, Kaputa, Kawadar, Keepran, Kele, Kera, Kessel, Kluai, Kwayz, Ladaw, Lairawk tumbu, Laphu, Leka, Lothe, Mabur, Magu, Maika, Mambuatisa, Meika, Meyal, Mfuka wa dinkongo, Mgomba, Moni, Moz, Ndizi, Nget pyo thee, Uht, Palanta, Peint, Pinana, Pisang, Platano, Pou, Ramba, Saba, Saging, Sou, Te banana, Te bunti, Te oraora, Tolo, Tukua pisang, Uchu, Uht, Usr, Vaalai, Vudi, Wais, Wis

Synonyms

Musa x sapientum L.; Musa maculata Jacq.; many