List of banana cultivars

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Left to right: plantains, Red, Latundan, and Cavendish bananas Bananavarieties.jpg
Left to right: plantains, Red, Latundan, and Cavendish bananas

The following is a list of banana cultivars and the groups into which they are classified. Almost all modern cultivated varieties (cultivars) of edible bananas and plantains are hybrids and polyploids of two wild, seeded banana species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana . Cultivated bananas are almost always seedless (parthenocarpic) and hence sterile, so they are propagated vegetatively (cloned). They are classified into groups according to a genome-based system introduced by Ernest Cheesman, Norman Simmonds, and Ken Shepherd, which indicates the degree of genetic inheritance from the two wild parents and the number of chromosomes (ploidy). Cultivars derived from Musa acuminata are more likely to be used as dessert bananas, while those derived from Musa balbisiana and hybrids of the two are usually plantains or cooking bananas. [1] [2]

Contents

Classification of cultivars

Banana plants were originally classified by Linnaeus into two species, which he called Musa paradisiaca – those used as cooking bananas (plantains), and M. sapientum – those used as dessert bananas. The primary center of diversity of cultivated bananas is Southeast Asia. Botanical exploration of this area led to many more species being named, along with subspecies and varieties. However, this approach proved inadequate to deal with the large number of cultivated varieties (cultivars) which were discovered, and many of the names later proved to be synonyms. [1] Furthermore, it was discovered that most cultivated bananas are actually hybrids between two wild species, M. acuminata and M. balbisiana , both first described in 1820 by the Italian botanist Luigi Aloysius Colla, [3] and that Linnaeus' two "species" were both this hybrid, which is now called M. × paradisiaca. [4] Unlike the wild species, which have seeds, cultivated bananas are almost always seedless (parthenocarpic) and hence sterile, so they have to be propagated vegetatively.

In 1955, researchers Norman Simmonds and Ken Shepherd proposed abandoning traditional Latin-based botanical names for cultivated bananas. [2] This approach foreshadowed the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants which, in addition to using Latin names based on the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, gives cultivars names in a currently spoken language, enclosed in single quotes, and organizes them into "cultivar groups", also not given Latin names. [5]

Banana cultivars derived from M. acuminata and M. balbisiana can be classified into cultivar groups using two criteria. The first is the number of chromosomes: whether the plant is diploid, triploid or tetraploid. The second is relationship to the two ancestral species, which may be determined by genetic analysis or by a scoring system devised by Simmonds and Shepherd. A cultivar is scored on 15 characters, chosen because they differ between the two species. Each character is given a score between one and five according to whether it is typical of M. acuminata or of M. babisiana or is in between. Thus the total score for a cultivar will range from 15 if all characters agree with M. acuminata to 75 if all characters agree with M. balbisiana. Intermediate scores suggest mixed ancestry: for example, 45 would be expected for diploids with equal genetic contributions from both species. [6]

Groups are then named using a combination of the letters "A" and "B". The number of letters shows the ploidy; the proportion of As and Bs the contributions of the ancestral species. The AAB Group, for example, comprises triploid cultivars with more genetic inheritance from M. acuminata than M. balbisiana. A character score of around 35 is expected for members of this group. Within groups, cultivars may be divided into subgroups and then given a cultivar name, e.g. Musa AAA Group (Cavendish Subgroup) 'Robusta'. [6]

Characters used to classify banana cultivars derived from M. acuminata and M. balbisiana [6]
CharacterM. acuminataM. balbisiana
Color of pseudostem Black or grey-brown spotsUnmarked or slightly marked
Petiole canalErect edge, with scarred inferior leaves, not against the pseudostemClosed edge, without leaves, against the pseudostem
StalkCovered with fine hairSmooth
Pedicels ShortLong
OvumTwo regular rows in the locule Four irregular rows in the locule
Elbow of the bractTall (< 0.28)Short (> 0.30)
Bend of the bract The bract wraps behind the openingThe bract raises without bending behind the opening
Form of the bractLance- or egg-shaped, tapering markedly after the bendBroadly egg-shaped
Peak of the bractAcuteObtuse
Color of the bractDark red or yellow on the outside, opaque purple or yellow on the insideBrown-purple on the outside, crimson on the inside
DiscolorationThe inside of the bract is more bright toward the baseThe inside of the bract is uniform
Scarification of the bractProminentNot prominent
Free tepal of the male flowerCorrugated under the pointRarely corrugated
Color of the male flowerWhite or creamPink
Color of the markingsOrange or bright yellowCream, yellow, or pale pink

In practice, the scoring system and the associated grouping is not as straightforward as the Simmonds and Shepherd naming system implies. For example, a member of the AAB Group should have a score about one third of the way between M. acuminata and M. balbisiana (i.e. about 35) if one third of its chromosomes come from M. balbisiana. However, the cultivars 'Silk' and 'Pome', both classified in the AAB Group, scored 26 and 46 respectively. The cultivar 'Pelipita' is placed in the ABB group, so should have 11 of its 33 chromosomes derived from M. acuminata. However, a technique called "genomic in situ hybridization" (GISH) showed that actually only 8 chromosomes were of this origin. Other lines of evidence suggest a more complex genome structure is present in other banana cultivars, so the group names should not be taken at face value. [7]

Cultivars

The total number of cultivars of bananas and plantains has been estimated to be anything from around 300 to more than 1000. Names are highly confused, even within a single country. Many common names do not refer to a single cultivar or clone; for example 'Lady's Finger' or 'Lady Finger' has been used as the name for members of different genome groups, including AA and AAB. Many other names are synonyms of cultivars grown in the same or different countries. [8] Attempts have been made to create lists of synonyms. In 2000, Valmayor et al. listed equivalent local names for 68 cultivars across five Southeast Asian countries (the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam), together with their internationally used names. They considered a further 81 cultivars to be unique to one country. [1] In 2007, Ploetz et al. listed more cultivar names and synonyms, with an emphasis on those grown in the islands of the Pacific, but including some grown in areas such as India, Africa and South America. As an example, for the widely grown cultivar 'Dwarf Cavendish', they gave 58 synonyms from 29 countries or geographical areas. [8] ProMusa has created a checklist of banana cultivar names based on available literature. [9]

A recent development is the use of "somaclones" in banana cultivation. Micropropagation involves growing plants from very small amounts of source tissue, sometimes even a single cell, under sterile conditions using artificial techniques to induce growth from mitochondrial relief systems. The purpose of micropropagation is often to produce a large number of genetically identical offspring in the manner of Shannon et al. However, by inducing mutations through various means, it is possible to produce plants which differ slightly from the "parent" plant and from each other ("somaclonal variations"). By growing on these somaclones and selecting those with desirable features, new cultivars can be produced which are very similar to an existing cultivar, but differ in one or two features, such as disease resistance. Somaclones may only be distinguishable by genetic analysis. [10]

Musa section

Musa × paradisiaca is the name for hybrids between Musa acuminata (A) and Musa balbisiana (B), both in Musa section Musa.

AA Group

Diploid Musa acuminata , both wild banana plants and cultivars

AAA Group

Triploid Musa acuminata , both wild banana plants and cultivars

AAAA Group

Tetraploid Musa acuminata , both wild bananas and cultivars

AAAB Group

Tetraploid cultivars of Musa × paradisiaca

AAB Group

Triploid cultivars of Musa × paradisiaca. This group contains the Plantain subgroup, composed of "true" plantains or African Plantains. The AAB Group's centre of diversity is Central and West Africa, where a large number of cultivars were domesticated following the introduction of ancestral Plantains from Asia, possibly 2000–3000 years ago. [15]

The Iholena and Maoli-Popo'ulu subgroups are referred to as Pacific plantains. [8]

AABB Group

Tetraploid cultivars of Musa × paradisiaca

AB Group

Diploid cultivars of Musa × paradisiaca

ABB Group

Triploid cultivars of Musa × paradisiaca

  • Bluggoe Subgroup
  • Others
  • Blue Java (Ice Cream banana, Ney mannan, Ash plantain, Pata hina, Dukuru, Vata)

ABBB Group

Tetraploid cultivars of Musa × paradisiaca

BB Group

Diploid Musa balbisiana , wild bananas

Callimusa section

Cultivars of Musa lolodensis , Musa maclayi and Musa peekelii belong in Musa section Callimusa.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banana</span> Tropical, edible, staple fruit

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Musaceae is a family of flowering plants composed of three genera with about 91 known species, placed in the order Zingiberales. The family is native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. The plants have a large herbaceous growth habit with leaves with overlapping basal sheaths that form a pseudostem making some members appear to be woody trees. In most treatments, the family has three genera, Musa, Musella and Ensete. Cultivated bananas are commercially important members of the family, and many others are grown as ornamental plants.

<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, and fiber (abacá), used to make paper and cloth. 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.

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

Gros Michel, often translated and known as "Big Mike", is an export cultivar of banana and was, until the 1950s, the main variety grown. The physical properties of the Gros Michel make it an excellent export produce; its thick peel makes it resilient to bruising during transport and the dense bunches that it grows in make it easy to ship.

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

The Goldfinger banana (FHIA-01) is a banana cultivar developed in Honduras. The cultivar, developed at the Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research (FHIA) by a team of scientists led by Phillip Rowe and Franklin Rosales, has been bred to be pest-resistant and crop-yielding.

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

The Grand Nain banana is a banana cultivar of Musa acuminata. It is one of the most commonly cultivated bananas and a member of the commercial Cavendish banana cultivar group. It is also known as the Chiquita banana because it is the main product of Chiquita Brands International.

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

Rhino Horn bananas, also called Rhino Horn plantains or African Rhino Horn, are hybrid banana cultivars from Africa. It produces strongly curved and elongated edible bananas which can grow to a length of two feet, the longest fruits among banana cultivars.

<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 8000 BCE, it is one of the early examples of domesticated plants.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fe'i banana</span> Banana cultivars

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.

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

Lady finger bananas are diploid banana cultivars originating in Malaysia or Indonesia, belonging to the Sucrier subgroup of the AA banana cultivar group. Lady finger bananas are the most widely cultivated AA cultivar and are one of the world’s most popular local bananas. Its fruits are finger-sized, sweet, and thin-skinned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latundan banana</span> Type of banana originating in the Philippines

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">Lakatan banana</span> Banana cultivar

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.

<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">Thai banana</span> Banana cultivar

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.

<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, are a group of starchy triploid banana cultivars, 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 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.

Masak Hijau bananas are triploid banana cultivars from Malaysia. It is a member of the commercially important Cavendish banana subgroup. It is a popular banana cultivar in Southeast Asia and the West Indies.

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

Cardava bananas, also spelled cardaba or kardaba, 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 commonly confused with the more ubiquitous and closely related saba banana because they are used identically in traditional Filipino cuisine. Their common names can be interchanged in everyday usage though they are different cultivars.

References

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Further reading