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Banana plants are among the largest extant herbaceous plants, some reaching up to 9 m (30 ft) in height or 18 m (59 ft) in the case of Musa ingens.The large herb is composed of a modified underground stem (), a false trunk or pseudostem formed by the basal parts of tightly rolled leaves, a network of roots, and a large flower spike.
Musa × paradisiaca is a species as well as a cultivar, originating as the hybrid between Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, cultivated and domesticated by human very early.. Most cultivated bananas and plantains are polyploid cultivars either of this hybrid or of M. acuminata alo
Each fruit can have 15 to 62 seeds. [10] Each fruit bunch can have an average of 161.76 ± 60.62 fingers with each finger around 2.4 by 9 cm (1 by 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) in size. [11] The seeds of wild M. acuminata are around 5 to 6 mm (3 ⁄ 16 to 1 ⁄ 4 in) in diameter. [8] They are subglobose or angular in shape and very hard.
The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant. [2] All the above-ground parts of a banana plant grow from a structure called a corm. [3] Plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy with a treelike appearance, but what appears to be a trunk is actually a pseudostem composed of multiple leaf-stalks ().
Characters used to classify banana cultivars derived from M. acuminata and M. balbisiana [6] Character M. acuminata M. balbisiana; Color of pseudostem: Black or grey-brown spots Unmarked or slightly marked Petiole canal Erect edge, with scarred inferior leaves, not against the pseudostem Closed edge, without leaves, against the pseudostem Stalk
Natural shedding of an organ that is mature or aged, as of a ripe fruit or an old leaf. [4] abscission zone Specialized layer of tissue that allows an organ to be shed by abscission when it is ripe or senescent. Such tissue is commonly formed, for example, at the base of a petiole or pedicel. acaulescent
It is assumed that wild bananas were cooked and eaten, as farmers would not have developed the cultivated banana otherwise. Seeded Musa balbisiana fruit are called butuhan ('with seeds') in the Philippines, [7] and kluai tani (กล้วยตานี) in Thailand, [8] where its leaves are used for packaging and crafts. [9]
Since the first printing of Carl Linnaeus's Species Plantarum in 1753, plants have been assigned one epithet or name for their species and one name for their genus, a grouping of related species. [1] Many of these plants are listed in Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners .