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.
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.
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.
Musa tuberculata is a tropical Asian species of plant in the banana family native to the Malesian region (Brunei). It is one of fourteen species of Musa endemic to the island of Borneo. The specific epithet "tuberculata" is from the Latin meaning "covered with minute tubercles". M. tuberculata is placed in section Callimusa, members of which have a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
Musa muluensis is a plant in the banana and plantain family. It is native to tropical Asia; found only in Sarawak in Malaysia. It is placed in section Callimusa, members of which have a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
Musa hirta is a tropical Asian species of plant in the banana family native to Sarawak on the island of Borneo, in Malaysia. It is one of fourteen species of Musa endemic to the island of Borneo. It is placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
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.
Markku Häkkinen was a Finnish self-taught botanist, considered one of the world's leading experts on the taxonomy of bananas. Forty-six out of the seventy known species of wild bananas have been described by Häkkinen. The Linnean Society of London awarded him the H. H. Bloomer Award of 2009. In 2015 Häkkinen received the Finnish Cultural Foundation's Award for outstanding cultural achievement.
Musa jackeyi is a species of wild banana in the banana family (Musaceae). It is placed in section Callimusa. It has only a small native range in north-east Queensland, Australia. It is the second tallest banana species after Musa ingens, having petioles (stalks) up to 33 ft (10 m) in height, topped by laminae (blades) 14.5 ft (4.4 m) long by 2 ft (61 cm) in width, for a total height of up to 47.5 ft (14.5 m). 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 borneensis is a species of wild banana, native to the island of Borneo, in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. It is placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
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 fitzalanii was a species of wild banana, which was native to north-east Queensland, Australia, but is now believed to be extinct. The type specimen was collected in the 19th century, from the vicinity of 'Daintree's River' most likely by Eugene Fitzalan, an Irish collector who apparently worked with Ferdinand von Mueller, the first describer of the species. Along with M. acuminata and M. jackeyi, it was one of the three species native to Australia. It was placed in section Callimusa.
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 lawitiensis is a species of wild banana, native to the island of Borneo. It is placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
Musa lokok is a species of wild banana, native to Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. It is placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
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 monticola, also known as the Kinabalu mountain banana, is a species of wild banana, native to Sabah on the island of Borneo. It is placed in section Callimusa, having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
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.
Musa voonii is a species of wild banana, native to Sarawak on the island of Borneo. It is placed in section Callimusa, members of which have a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
