262 CXLIX. SCITAMINEJE. (J. G. Baker.) [Musa. 



Habit of M. supcrba. Trunk 5-6 ft., 2 ft. diam at the base. Leaves, as in 

 superba, but smaller and rather glaucous, upper passing gradually into the bracts. 

 Spike short, drooping ; lower fioriferous bracts 6 in. ; flowers 2-seriate, 7-8 to a 

 bract. Calyx and corolla yellowish-white. Fruit and seeds as in M . superba. 



3. 1. glauca, Eoxb. Hort. Beng. 19; Corom. PI. t. 300; j&V. Ind. i. 

 669 ; trunk cylindric, leaves shortly petioled, bracts ovate greenish many- 

 fid., calyx 3-cleft, petal obcordate with a large macro shorter than the 

 calyx, fruit obovoid-oblong subcoriaceous. Horan. Prodr. 41. 



PEGU; Carey. 



Trunk 10-12 ft. below the leaves, 8 in. diam. Leaves 4-5 ft., oblong-lanceolate, 

 acute. Spike drooping from the base; bracts numerous, imbricate, the lower not 

 - ft. ; flowers 10-20 to bract. Calyx pale, about 1 in. ; segments 3, loosely coherent, 

 linear. Corolla not half as long as the calyx. Fruit 1-5 in., 1-| in. diam. Seeds 

 smooth, globose, nearly black, ^ in. diam. 



** Stoloriiferous. Bracts many-fid. Fruit pulpy, edible. 



4. M. sapientum, Linn. Sp. Plant. 1477 ; stoloniferous, stem tall 

 cylindrical, leaves petioled, spike drooping, bracts ovate many-fid, usually 

 deciduous, calyx 5-toothed at the tip, petal shorter than the calyx, fruit 

 pulpy. Roxb. Hort. Beng. 18 ; Corom. PL t. 275 ; Fl. Ind. i. 663 ; 

 Grali. Cat. PI. Bomb. 212 ; Dalz. $ Gibs. Bomb. Fl. Suppl. 88. ; Thw. 

 JEnum. 321 ; Horan. Prodr. 42 BJieede Hort. Nalab. i. 17, t. 12-14 ; 

 Humph. Amboin. v. 130, t. 60 ; Trew JEJiret. t. 21-23. 



Indigenous in BEHAR and the EASTERN HIMALAYAS, ascending to 4000 ft. 

 CEYLON, Thwaites; cultivated throughout India and the tropics. DISTRIB. Malay 

 isles, &c. 



Stem 8-12 ft. Leaves 4-5 ft. oblong, b^ht green above, paler beneath. In- 

 floresence about as long as the leaves; bra^Hvate, more or less pruinose, lower 6-8 

 in., upper much shorter, falling before the^lpit matures. Calyx yellowish-white, 

 1-li in. Petal oblong, about half as long, /fruit oblong, trigonous, 2-3 in. in the 

 wild form, and full of seed (seedless in the cult, forms) tapering to the base and 

 apex, yellowish greeu "svhen ripe. Seeds angled by pressure, brownish-black, 

 rugose, i in. diam. The principal varieties and subspecies wild and cultivated in 

 India are- 



M. DACCA, Horan. Prodr. 41 ; differs from typical sapient-urn by leaves paler 

 green above white-pruinose beneath, pruinose stem, broad red border of the 

 petiole and pale yellow fruit about 4 in. long with a very thick skin. 



M. CHAMPA, Hort.; stem and midrib of the leaf red, fruit pale straw-coloured 

 about 6 in. long. 



M. SIKKIMENSIS, Kurz in Jotirn. Agric. Hort. Soc. Ind. n.s.v. 164 ; differs 

 from sapientum by its duller purple spathes and angled tubercled seeds 4-5 lin. 

 diam. Wild in Sikkim. Hook.f. $ Thorns. (Herb. Ind. Or. 5.) 



M. PABADISIACA, 'Linn. Sp. Plant. 1477 ; stem reaching a length of 20 ft., leaf- 

 blade of 5-6 ft. and petiole of 2 ft., fruit larger than in sapientum, ^-1 ft. long, 

 with firmer pulp, not tit to eat till cooked, bracts and male flowers more persistent. 

 Roxb. Hort. Beng. 19 ; Trew Ehret. t. 18-20. M. Clitfortiana, Linn. Hort. Cliff. 

 i. t. 1. Commonly cultivated ; wild in Ceylon, according to Moon. 



M. SIMIABUM, Kurz in. Jour n. Agric. Hort. Soc. Ind. xiv. 297; bracts violet, 

 only one opening at a time, those of the male flowers convolute, fruit very small. 

 Andamans and Malacca, Kurz. 



M. TEOQLODYTABUM, Linn. ; Kurz in Journ. Agric. Hort. Soc. Ind. n. s. v. 166 ; 

 leave* narrow oblong, flower-spike erect, bracts greenish imbricated, fruit 3 in. long 

 dark yellow or reddish brown.- Wild in Ceylon, according to Moen. 



