x, C,6 Teodoro: Philippine Bananas 397 
MUSA SAPIENTUM L. var. CINEREA (Blanco). Latundan, tordan, le- 
tondal. Plate XIII, figs. 1-5. 
Musa paradisiaca cinerea Blanco. 
Produces from 5 to 10 flowering stems in a stool, character- 
ized by the light green skin of the trunk, often covered with 
black or brown blotches; mature plant reaching a height of from 
300 to 360 cm and a diameter of from 20 to 24 cm at the base. 
The leaves are green throughout; the mature blades are from 
238 to 263 cm long and from 71 to 74 cm wide, with petioles 
72 to 75 cm long. 
The spike bears from 4 to 10 hands of matured fruits. The 
time from sprouting to flowering is usually from eight to ten 
months. 
The flowers (Plate XIII, figs. 1, 2, and 4) are white, large, 
from 7 to 9 cm long and from 1 to 1.5 em wide; the perigonium 
with shallow sinuses; the scale white, obovate in shape, abruptly 
acute at the tip, deep-shouldered and deeply depressed on the 
surface, nearly half as long as the perigonium; stamens shorter 
than pistil; the stigma with oblong lobes. 
The fruits are cylindrical, from 10 to 12 cm in length and from 
3.5 to 4.5 cm in diameter when ripe, with white soft pulp and 
yellow skin. A common banana. The average weight of ma- 
tured fruit is 71.2 grams; often the weight runs below this 
because of the condition of the soil. 
Blanco’s description of this variety is translated as follows:* 
The fruit has a thin skin, without notable angles, and is whitish. It 
is of the same size as the ternate; its flesh is delicate and of a grayish 
color. However, its taste is not superior to that of the other bananas. 
It is a pity that on its account the natives have abandoned the other species 
which are much better; its fruits are the only ones whose skin spilts 
and breaks. Years ago it was brought from India to Manila by Mr. Le- 
tondal, a French clergyman. I have found perfect seeds in this banana 
several times. I have also seen twin fruits covered with only one skin, 
two flowers acting together for its formation, as I have said happens with 
the scandent coffee. Letondal. 
The names latundan and tordan are merely variations of the 
original name letondal, which is now little used. Litondon, 
retundol, and tundan are also used. 
MUSA SAPIENTUM L. var. CUBENSIS var. nov. Apple banana, man- 
zana de Cuba. Plate XI, figs. 6-10. 
This variety was introduced at Los Bafios from Cuba, through 
the United States Departament of Agriculture, and in the 
* FI, Filip. ed. 2 (1845) 175. 
