Musa acuminata

Botanical Description

Musa acuminata is an evergreen, perennial, herbaceous plant growing around 3 metres tall[ 417 Title Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database Publication Author Website http://www2.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/index.asp Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Brief details on over 100 species of Hawaiian plants. ]. The leaves can be 2 metres long and 60cm wide[ 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ]. The plant produces a clump of large pseudostems up to 30cm in diameter at the base, that make it appear rather tree-like. These stems grow up from a perennial stoloniferous rootstock[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. Bananas are a staple food and one of the most prolific of all food crops, producing more than cassava, and several times as much as wheat and potatoes[ 362 Title Dominica Botanic Gardens Publication Author Website http://www.da-academy.org/trees_shrubs.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line resource, providing top quality pictures and some basic information on various plants being grown at the Botanic Gardens, often including uses and habitat. ]. This species, which is the more important parent of the cultivated banana, Musa x paradisiaca, is also cultivated for its edible fruit. There are many named forms that have been developed for the quality of their fruit, as well as many that have been developed for their ornamental quality. Cultivars of this species tend to be hardier and more able to be grown in cooler climates, than those involving Musa balbisiana