Blood banana

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Blood banana
Musa acuminata Syn zebrina HabitusLeaves BotGardBln0906.jpg
Typical young specimen
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Musaceae
Genus: Musa
Species:
Variety:
M. a. var. zebrina
Trinomial name
Musa acuminata var. zebrina
Synonyms
  • Musa acuminata var. zebrina
    (Van Houtte ex Planch.) Nasution
  • Musa rojo
    hort.
  • Musa sumatrana
    Becc.
  • Musa sumatrana
    Becc. ex André
  • Musa sumatrana 'Rubra'
    hort.
  • Musa zebrina
    Van Houtte ex Planchon
  • Musa zebrina
    (Van Houtte) Backer
  • Musa zebrina 'Rojo'
    hort.

The blood banana (Musa acuminata var. zebrina), is a variety of the wild banana Musa acuminata native to Sumatra, Indonesia. The blood banana is an ornamental plant, named for the dark red patches on its leaves, though its small-seeded fruits are also edible. It grows 6' to 8' tall in the wild, but is well-adapted to container growing and can be maintained at 3' to 5'. It grows best in full or partial sun and is hardy in zones 9 - 11. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy and nomenclature

The blood banana is a variety of the wild banana species Musa acuminata, one of the two ancestors of modern edible bananas. It was once classified as separate species under the now invalid names (synonyms) Musa zebrina and Musa sumatrana. [2] It was also sometimes incorrectly classified as a cultivar.[ citation needed ] The variety is not accepted by some sources, including the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, which regards it as part of the nominate subspecies of Musa acuminata, M. acuminata subsp. acuminata. [3]

The blood banana is also known as the red banana tree, though it should not be confused with the red banana cultivar. Other common names in English include seeded red banana, Sumatra ornamental banana, and maroon-variegated banana plant. They are also known as banano rojo in Spanish, ゼブリナバナナ (zeburina banana) in Japanese, กล้วยมะนี (kluai ma ni) in Thai, and chuối kiểng in Vietnamese. [4]

Description

Blood bananas are characterized by dark red patches of variable sizes on their dark green leaves. Their pseudostems are characteristically very slender. They bear small, slender fruits filled with grape-like seeds. [5]

Distribution

Blood bananas are native to Java, Indonesia. They are notable for being one of the earliest banana subspecies to be spread by humans out of Southeast Asia. Introduced westward to Africa, they became the ancestors for the genetically distinct and commercially important East African Highland bananas (Mutika/Lujugira subgroup of the AAA group). [5]

It is probably the only seeded banana to ever be introduced into Hawaii before European contact. It is known as the maiʻa ʻoa in Hawaiian, though the name is also applied to the species Musa balbisiana , which was introduced later on. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguishing them from dessert bananas. The fruit is variable in size, color, and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow upward in clusters near the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used.

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<i>Dianthus barbatus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Musa</i> (genus) Genus of flowering plants in the banana and plantain family Musaceae

Musa is one of three genera in the family Musaceae. The genus includes 83 species of flowering plants producing edible bananas and plantains. Though they grow as high as trees, banana and plantain plants are not woody and their apparent "stem" is made up of the bases of the huge leaf stalks. Thus, they are technically gigantic herbaceous plants. Musa species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the giant leopard moth and other Hypercompe species, including H. albescens, H. eridanus, and H. icasia.

<i>Chrysobalanus icaco</i> Species of tree

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldfinger banana</span> Edible fruit cultivar

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<i>Musa balbisiana</i> Species of banana native to eastern South Asia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Nain</span> Edible fruit cultivar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhino Horn banana</span> Banana cultivar

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<i>Musa acuminata</i> Species of banana native to Southeast Asia

Musa acuminata is a species of banana native to Southern Asia, its range comprising the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Many of the modern edible dessert bananas are from this species, although some are hybrids with Musa balbisiana. First cultivated by humans around 10 kya, it is one of the early examples of domesticated plants.

Musa maclayi is a species of seeded banana native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It is placed in section Callimusa. It is regarded as one of the progenitors of the Fe'i banana cultivars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Java banana</span> Banana cultivar

The Blue Java is a hardy, cold-tolerant banana cultivar known for its sweet aromatic fruit, which is said to have an ice cream-like consistency and flavor reminiscent of vanilla. It is native to Southeast Asia and is a hybrid of two species of banana native to Southeast Asia — Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saba banana</span> Banana cultivar

Saba banana, is a triploid hybrid (ABB) banana cultivar originating from the Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can also be eaten raw. It is one of the most important banana varieties in Philippine cuisine. It is also sometimes known as the "cardaba banana", though the latter name is more correctly applied to the cardava, a very similar cultivar also classified within the saba subgroup.

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The Latundan banana is a triploid hybrid banana cultivar of the AAB "Pome" group from the Philippines. It is one of the most common banana cultivars in Southeast Asia and the Philippines, along with Lacatan and Saba bananas. Its Malaysian name is pisang rastali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Señorita banana</span> Banana cultivar

Señorita bananas are diploid cultivars of the banana Musa acuminata originating in the Philippines. They are very small stout bananas which, like all bananas belonging to the AA cultivar group, are known for being extraordinarily sweet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matoke</span> Banana cultivar

Matoke, locally also known as matooke, amatooke in Buganda, ekitookye in southwestern Uganda, ekitooke in western Uganda, kamatore in Lugisu, ebitooke in northwestern Tanzania, igitoki in Rwanda, Burundi and by the cultivar name East African Highland banana, is a starchy triploid banana cultivar originating from the African Great Lakes. The fruit is harvested green, carefully peeled, and then cooked and often mashed or pounded into a meal. In Uganda and Rwanda, the fruit is steam-cooked, and the mashed meal is considered a national dish in both countries.

<i>Musa <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> paradisiaca</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Musa beccarii</i> Species of flowering plant

Musa beccarii is a species of wild banana, found in Malaysia, in Sabah. It is placed in section Callimusa.

References

  1. "Musa sumatrana 'Zebrina' Rojo Banana from AgriStarts". www.agristarts.com. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  2. "Musa acuminata Colla var. zebrina (Van Houtte ex Planch.) Nasution". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  3. "Musa acuminata var. zebrina". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  4. Michel H. Porcher (March 22, 2011). "Sorting Musa names". The University of Melbourne. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Randy C. Ploetz; Angela Kay Kepler; Jeff Daniells & Scot C. Nelson (2007). "Banana and plantain an overview with emphasis on the Pacific island cultivars" (PDF). Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry. Retrieved June 5, 2011.