MUSA 



noco. Horse or Hoij Banana, is probably very near the 

 tyi'i'';il form '>f rliis s[)ecies. It is veryliardy, and mneh 

 ^rowii ill (iiitf st:iti's: fr. 6-7 in. long, not jrood unless 

 i-ijuMU'd on tile iihint. The Fig Banana resembles var. 

 Champa, Imt smuU fruit purplish: dark Ivs. and stem 

 often l)lotclied with black. Not hardy. 



Var. Troglodytirum, Hort. (Jf. Troglodytdruin, Linn. 

 M. Cranoscdpos, Rumph, not Seera.). Rather dwarf: 

 Ivs. narrow-oblong: bracts greenish: panicle in fr. 

 erect: fr. small, 2-3 in. long, nearly globular, reddish 

 yellow or orange, rarely with a few seeds; flesh yellow, 

 sweet and mawkish. India and Pacific Isls., rarely 

 cult, in U. S. 



Var. Ddcca, Hort. {M. Ditcca, Horan. M. palilstris, 

 Hort.?). Dacca Banana. Rather dwarf: stem glau- 

 cous: Ivs. pale green, glaucous beneath; petioles with 

 red margins: fr. yellow, 4 in. long by 2 in. wide, its tip 

 and base bright green; flavor good; skin thick. — Tender, 

 not good for cool climates. 



Var. Ch&mpa, Hort. (M. Champa, Tiort. M-orifntum, 

 Hort.). Hakt's Choice. Lady Finger, or Golden 

 Eaui.v Banana. Chcmpa. Stem and midrib of leaf 

 tingrd with red: fr. pale straw-yellow, about 6 in. long; 

 skin very soft and thin; flesh luscious and delicate in 

 flavor, ripens quickly. Hardy in cool climates. Best of 

 all for growing in Florida. Much grown in W. Indies. 



Var. paradislaca, Hort. (M. paradis}nca, Linn.). 

 Plantain Banana. Cooking Banana. Adam's Fig. 

 Male fls. more persistent: fr. 40-80 on a panicle, very 

 large, 7-14 in. long, cylindrical, yellow, acutish; pulp 

 firm and less saccharine, not very good unless cooked : 

 Ivs. 5-7 ft. and petiole 2 ft. long. India. R.H. 1888, p. 

 69. L.B.C. 7:684. — Cult, everywhere in tropics, espe- 

 cially in Cuba. Most commercial Bananas are of this 

 variety. The Martinique Banana is probably merely a 

 form with slightly smaller fruits (7-8 in. long). Im- 

 mense quantities grown in W. Indies and Cent. Amer. 

 Fine for shipping. 



Var. rtbra, Hort. (M. rubra. Firming). Baracoa 

 Banana. Red .Jamaica Banana. Red Spanish Banana. 

 Stem, petiole, fls. and midrib of leaf dull red: fr. large, 7-9 

 in. long at first, dark red, ri|Hiiini; to a yellowish red, of 

 very good quality. — This is tin- red Banana of commerce, 

 formerly imported in liirtji- ([uuntities from the W. 

 Indies. Plant very l.irt;.' :nid stout, with erect Ivs., and 

 is one of the finest for diM-orative purposes, although 

 not very hardy. Tlie (ioldrn Banana is intermediate be- 

 tween this and var. t'liaiiiini : fr. golden yellow or red- 

 dish, 8-9 in. long, blunt. 



Var. vitt&ta, Hook. Rather dwarf in habit: Ivs. and 

 the long fruits copiously striped with white and often 

 also rose; spathes bright red inside. B.M. 5402. — Very 

 decorative. 



5. Ensftte, Gmel. Abyssinian Banana. Fig. 1436. 

 One of the largest species, very luxuriant : Ivs. ob- 

 long, acutish, bright green, up to 20 ft. by 3 ft. ; petiole 

 short and broad; peduiu^Ie short; panicle nearly globose: 

 bracts ovate, dark claret-brown : fls. whitish, lK-2 in. 

 long, 2-ranked, 20 or less in each rank; calyx strap- 

 shaped ; apex 3-lobed ; petal short, central cusp long- 

 linear: fr. coriaceous, dry, 2-3 in. long: seeds 1-4, black, 

 glossy, nearly 1 in. broad. Abyssinia. 0.0.11.15:435; 

 21: 19; III. 16:696. Gn. 47, p. 5; 48, p. 406. B.M. 5223. 

 R.H. 1888, p. 32. V. 5:.53, F.E. 11 :470.-Most commonly 

 cult, of all decorative Bananas, and prob.ahly the finest; 

 also most hardy of all cult, forms, growing freely during 

 the summer. Seeds germinate easily in hotbed. 



G. seminifera. Lour. The typical form is not in the 

 trade. Var. zebrina, Hort. {M. zehrhin, Hort.). V'ery 

 similar to M. snpienhim in vegetative characters, but 

 much smaller: axis of the panicle velvety: fr. small, 

 oblong, full of seeds and not edible, yellowish or green- 

 ish in color: Ivs. usually purple below and copiously 

 blotched or striped with "black or dark purple above.— 

 A very fine ornamental variety. 



7. Sumatrina, Becc. False stem 3 ft. high: Ivs. ob- 

 long, 5-6 by 1 ^ ft., glaucous, blotched with claret-brown ; 

 petiole slender: peduncle hairy: panicle drooping, 1-1 J^ 

 ft. long: male fls. deciduous: bracts short and rounded : 

 female clusters few, distant: calyx 1 in. long: fr. cylin- 



G6 



MUSCARI 1039 



drical, curved, 2-3 in. by }^ in., narrowed suddenly to a 

 slender stipe. Sumatra. I. H. 27:375. — Used for decora- 

 tive purposes. 



8. cocclnea, Andr^. False stem slender, 4-5 ft. by 2-3 

 in.: Ivs, small, oblong, 2-3 ft. by 6-9 in. ; petiole long and 

 slen<ier: panicle dense, erect, 6 in. long: female clusters 

 few: bracts lance-oblong, bright red, tipped with yel- 

 low: calyx yellow, 1 in. or more long: seeds very small, 

 oblong, rarely produced in cult. S. China. B.M. 1559. 

 L.B.C. 5:475. — Very showy. 



9. sangruinea, Hook. f. False stem slender, 4-5 ft. 

 high: Ivs. oblong, 2-3 ft. long, tliin, bright green; petiole 

 slender, 1 ft. hmg: panicle at first erect, fiLally droop- 

 ing : female^ clusters 2-6, each 2-3-fld. : male clusters 

 few, dense: bracts lanceolate, somewhat persistent: 

 bright red: calyx bright yellow, IH in. long: fr. ob- 

 long-trigonous, 2 in. long, rather pulpy, pale green, 

 variegated with red : seeds angled, small, black, 

 tubercled. Assam. B.M. 5975. — Decorative and showy. 



10. Tos&cea, Jacq. False stem 3-5 ft. high, 3-4 in. in 

 diam.: Ivs. narrow, linear-oblong, firm, 3 ft. long, 9 in. 

 wide, purplish beneath; petiole long and slender, 

 panicle drooping or erect, about 1 ft. long: bracts ovate- 

 lanceolate; ro>y purple: male clusters more numerous 

 than the female, deciduous : calyx yellow, 1 in. long : 

 fr. oblong, obscurely 4-5-angled, yellowish green, 2-3 in. 

 long; pulp very scanty and scarcely edible: seeds 2 

 lines in diara., black, tubercled, rare in cult. India. B.R. 

 9:706. L.B.C. 7:615. -Int. into California. 



UI-./<.- ^f' 0il...^. ■ 

 1436. Musa Ensete. 



if. F^hi. Vieill. (M. Seemanii. F. Mnell.). Similar to M. sap! 

 entum. Lvs. larger and firmer: fr. 5-6 in. long, straight, yelli 

 edible, seedy. Cult, in Europe. O. C. Ill- 8: 182.— Jlf. n'tiro, 

 Hort., differs from M. cnccinen in its short petal (one-half 

 length of calyx). Cult, in Europe. B.M. 7451.— Jlf. siipi 

 Roxb. Similar to M. Ensete: trunk often 7-8 ft. in circumfer- 

 ence at base: panicle drooping, one-third length of stem: calyx 

 of :i loosely cohering parts. Cult, in Europe. B.M. 3849, 3850, 

 R. H. 1877, p. 377; 1K88, p. 33. F. 1873, p. 273.— Jlf. lexliUs. Ne«, 

 Manila Hemp. Stem cylindrical, 20 ft. or more high: Ivs, 

 gL-iucous beneath, oblong, firm: petal long: fr. on drooping 

 axis, green, 2-3 in. long, narrowed to a short, stout pedicel, not 

 edible, filled with seeds. Most important of cordage plants. 

 Immense quantities exported from the Philippines. Int. by 

 Div. of Pomology, U. S. Dept. of Agric, in 1889, but no longer 

 K. M. WiEGAND. 



advertised. 



MUSCARI (Latin name referring to the musky odor 

 of j)A. mnsrliatum). X/ilidcew. Grape Hyacinths are 

 charming, hardy, spring-blooming bulbs (see Fig. 1439). 

 They are something like a hyacinth, but the clusters are 

 smaller, and the individual fls. are smaller and of differ- 

 ent shape. The fls. are piore or less urn-shaped, con- 

 stricted at the mouth and have 6 small teeth instead of 



