238 , SCITAMINE@. — (Costus. 
regions mostly of the Old World. As a cultivated plant Musa has: 
spread extensively throughout the warmer regions of both hem- 
ispheres, and more especially the kinds which yield the well- 
known and highly valued bandna and plaintain fruit (M. paradisiaca: 
_ and its subspecies sapientum). 
M. parapistaca, L. Sp. Pl. (1758) 1043; K. Schae in Engl. Pflan- 
zenreich iv, pt. 45 (1900), 19 ; Cooke Fl. Bomb. ii, 742 ; Rendle Fl. 
Pl., part 1, 331. M. paradisiaca, var. normalis, O. Kuntze Revis. 
Gen. in, (1891) 692. M. sapientum var. paradisiaca, Baker in 
F. B. I. vi (1893) 262 ; Watt E. D. and in Comm. Prod. Ind. 786 ; 
Prain Beng. Pl. 1050; Kanjilal For. Fl. (ed. 2), 405; Gamble 
Man. 723.—Vern. Kach-kela. The Plantain.— Male jis. and bracts 
subpersistent. Fruit cylindric, up to 12 in. long, usually yellowish- 
green when ripe, pulp hardly sweet and rather firm, only edible 
when cooked.—A variety of the above (var. sylvestris of Prain) is. 
found apparently wild in Dehra Dun in the Khairi swamp and in 
shady ravines of Nagsidh Hill, also at Sahansra-dhara, It is 
frequently met with at low elevations on the outer ranges of the 
Himalaya, and has been recorded also from Chota Nagpur and 
Chittagong. The fruit of this plant contains many seeds and is 
not edible. 
M. PARADISIACA, subsp. saAPIENTUM, K. Schum in Engl. Pflanzenreich 
iv, pt. 45 (1900) 20 ; Cooke FI. Bomb. it, 742; Rendlg Fl. Pl. part 
I, 331. M. parad isiaca, var. sapientum, O. Kunze Rev. Gen. ii, 
692. M. sapientum: (sp.), L.; Baker in F.*B. I. vi, 262; Watt 
E. D. ; Comm. Prod. Ind. 786 ; Prain Beng. Pl. 1050.—Vern. Kela. 
The Banana-—Male fis. and bracts deciduous. Fruit oblong, usually 
3-gonous, yellowish or reddish when ripe, the pulp is soft and sweet 
and is edible uncooked._Numerous forms or varieties of this sub- 
species are cultivated throughout the warmer parts of India, the- 
quality of the fruit differing according to the climate. For further 
particulars see Watt’s Comm. Prod. India. 
Musa cutnensis. Sweet in Hort. Brit. ed. 2 (1830) 596; Cooke Fl. 
Bomb. ii, 742. M. Cavindishii, Lambert.—Chinese or Dwarf ban4na. 
—Whole plant 4-6 ft. Leaves 6-8. forming a dense-resette, 2-3 ft. 
long and about 1 ft. broad, spreading, oblong ; petioles short,’stout, 
deeply channelled, with broad crisped green edges. Spikes dense, 
1-2 ft. long; bracts reddish-br own. Male fils. peisistent. Fruit 
4-5 in. long, 6- angled, yellow, with a thick skin, the flavour insipid 
until dead ripe. A native of 8S. China and much cultivated in India 
and other tropical countries. In the Saharanpur district the fruit. 
is ripened underground in earthenware vessels. 
