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, cooking bananas are 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 peel, which may have a variety of colors when ripe. It grows upward in clusters near the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) cultivated bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, or hybrids of them.
The blood banana, 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.
Cavendish bananas are the fruits of one of a number of banana cultivars belonging to the Cavendish subgroup of the AAA banana cultivar group. The same term is also used to describe the plants on which the bananas grow.
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 8000 BCE, 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.
Musa × alinsanaya is a Malesian tropical plant in the banana family (Musaceae), native to the Philippines. Only formally named in 2004, it is considered to be a hybrid between Musa banksii and Musa textilis. The flower bud is shiny green with purple inside. It produces small fruit with a high proportion of seeds.
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.
Fe'i bananas are cultivated plants in the genus Musa, used mainly for their fruit. They are very distinct in appearance and origin from the majority of bananas and plantains currently grown. Found mainly in the islands of the Pacific, particularly French Polynesia, Fe'i bananas have skins which are brilliant orange to red in colour with yellow or orange flesh inside. They are usually eaten cooked and have been an important food for Pacific Islanders, moving with them as they migrated across the ocean. Most are high in beta-carotene.
Lakatan bananas, also spelled Lacatan, are diploid banana cultivars from the Philippines. It is one of the most common banana cultivars in the Philippines, along with the Latundan and Saba bananas.
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.
Thai banana is a banana cultivar originating from Thailand, belonging to the triploid ABB banana cultivar group. This banana cultivar is one of the most important banana fruits in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Thai bananas contain many nutrients and are often eaten when ripe or prepared into many other dishes. Almost all parts of the Thai banana tree have useful uses for humans.
Musa coccinea, commonly known as scarlet banana or red-flowering banana, is a species of flowering plant in the banana and plantain family Musaceae, native to tropical China and Vietnam. It is a bat-pollinated evergreen perennial, placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
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 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.
Musa jackeyi, commonly called the erect banana or wild banana, is a species of wild banana in the plant family Musaceae. It is placed in section Callimusa. It has a very small native range in northeast Queensland, Australia. It grows up to 10 m (33 ft) in height, with leaf blades usually about 2 m long by 60 cm (24 in) wide. It resembles the cultivated bananas called "fe'i" or "fehi", having an upright rather than a drooping fruit stalk, with the green terminal bud pointing upwards, and sap which is reddish in colour.
Musa exotica is a species of wild banana, native to Vietnam. It is placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20. It was only described in 2004, from a collection in the Cúc Phương Forest Reservation, Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam. The clear orange bud is upright; small yellow bananas develop below the male flowers.
Musa gracilis is a species of wild banana, native to Peninsular Malaysia. It is placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20. It grows to less than 2 m (7 ft) tall. It has an upright pink-purple bud and produces narrow fruits (bananas), which have magenta and green stripes.
Musa lolodensis is a species of wild banana, occurring naturally from the Moluccas through to New Guinea. It is placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20. It is one of the possible parents of the cultivated Fe'i bananas.
Musa peekelii is a species of wild banana, native to eastern New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. It is placed in section Callimusa, members of which have a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20. It is a very tall plant, reaching over 10 m (33 ft), with a narrow green drooping bud. The ripe bananas are red with bright yellow flesh. It is one of the possible parents of the cultivated Fe'i bananas.
True plantains are a group of cultivars of the genus Musa placed in the African Plantain subgroup of the AAB chromosome group. Although "AAB" and "true plantain" are often used interchangeably, plantains are the most popular varieties among the AABs. The term "plantain" can refer to all the banana cultivars which are normally eaten after cooking, rather than raw, or it can refer to members of other subgroups of Musa cultivars, such as the Pacific plantains, although in Africa there is little to no distinction made between the two, as both are commonly cooked. True plantains are divided into four groups based on their bunch type: French, French Horn, False Horn, and Horn plantains.
