238 SCITAMINECE. [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 banana and plaintain fruit (M. paradisiac 

 and its subspecies sapientum). 



M. PARADISIAC A, L. S p. PL (1753) 1043 ; K. Schum in Engl. Pflan- 

 zenreich iv, pt. 45 (1900), 19 ; Cooke II Bomb, ii, 742 ; Eendle FL 

 PL, part 1, 331. M. paradisiaca, var. normalis, 0. Kuntze Revis* 

 Gen. ii, (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 ; Kanjildl For. FL (ed. 2), 405 ; Gamble. 

 Man. 723- Vern. Kach-Jcela. The Plantain. Male fls. and bracts 

 subpersistent. Fruit cylindric, up to 12 in. long, usually yellowish - 

 green when ripe, pulp hardly sweet and rather firm, only edible 

 when cook5d. 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. PARADISIAC A, subsp. SAPIENTUM, K. Schum in EngL Pflanzenreich 

 iv, pt. 45 (1900) 20 ; Cooke FL Bomb, ii, 742 ; Eendle FL PL part 

 7, 331. M. paradisiaca, var. sapientum, 0. Kunze Rev. Gen. ii, 

 692, M. sapientum (sp.), L. ; Baker in F. B. I. vi, 262 ; Watt 

 E. Z>, ; Comm. Prod. Ind. 786 ; Prain Beng. PL 1050. Vern.. Kela. 

 The Banana. Male fls. 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 CHINENSIS. Sweet in Hort. Brit. ed. 2 (1830) 596 ; Cooke FL 

 Bomb, ii, 742. M. Cavindishii, Lambert, Chinese or Dwarf banana. 

 Whole plant 4-6 ft. Leaves 6-8, forming a dense -rosette, 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 -brown. Male fls. persistent. Fruit 

 4-5 in. long, 6-angled, yellow, with a thick skin, the flavour insipid 

 until dead ripe. A native of S. China and much cultivated in India 

 and other tropical countries. In the Saharanpur district the fruit 

 is ripened underground in earthenware vessels. 



