MUSA 



MUSA 



2077 



times better for a slight shading during the middle of 

 the day, but only enough to prevent scorching of the 

 foliage. During the winter the night temperature may 

 be lowered to 60. They will also require less water and 

 syringing. The musas used for subtropical beds and 

 gardens are grown from seed, such as M. Ensete, M. 

 Basjoo, M. superba, and the like. These seeds may be 

 planted in pans or flats in a compost of loam, leaf-mold 

 and sand in equal parts. The seeds should be covered 

 about four times their size in depth and pressed firmly. 

 These pans should be placed where they can have plenty 

 of bottom-heat. When the seedlings appear, pot them 

 off and grow on the same as above. These plants can be 

 lifted in the fall and the soil shaken off and placed in 

 some house or cellar where the temperature does not go 

 below 45. (J. J. M. Farrell.) 



hooded at apex; free petal %-%in. long, broadly 

 elliptic, 3-5-lobed, the middle lobe oval and laterally 

 toothed: fr. pyriform, about 4 in. long by 2 in. wide; 

 seeds about %in. diam. German E. Afr., in deep 

 wooded ravines at 3,600-3,800 ft. altitude. Intro, into 

 cult, in 1905. Decorative. 



Abaca, 13. 

 abyssinica, 2. 

 africana, 1. 

 amboinensis, 13. 

 Arnpldiana, 9. 

 Basjoo, 14. 

 Carolina?, 21. 

 Cavendishii, 11. 

 Champa, 15a. 

 chinensis, 11. 

 cinerea, 15c. 

 coccinea, 16. 

 Dacca, 15d. 

 Ensete, 2. 

 Fehi, 12. 

 Fei, 12. 

 Gilletii, 8. 

 Holstii, 3. 



INDEX. 



humilis, 11. 

 japonica, 14. 

 Lacatan, lay'. 

 Livingstoniana, 6. 

 magna, lah. 

 Mannii, 17. 

 Martinii, 10. 

 Martretii, 5. 

 mindanensis, 13. 

 oleracea, 15k. 

 orientum, loa. 

 ornata, 21. 

 palustris, I5d. 

 paradisiaca, 15. 

 religiosa, 4. 

 rosacea, 21. 

 rubra, 156, 19. 

 sanguinea, 15e, 18. 



sapientum, 15, L 

 Seemanii, 12. 

 seminifera, 15, IIL 

 silvestris, 13. 

 sinensis, 11. 

 speciosa, 21. 

 suaveolens, 15i, 

 suznatrana, 20. 

 superba, 7. 

 ternatensis, 150. 

 textilis, 13. 

 textoria, 13. 

 troglodytarum, 12, 13, 



15, II. 



Uranoscopos, 12, 16. 

 ventricosa, 1. 

 vittata, 15/. 



A. Sts. short, bottle-shaped: male fls. many to a bract, free 



petal usually 3-toothed: fr. not edible: usually not 

 stoloniferous. (Subgenus Physocaulis.) 



B. Free petal entire: seeds few, large (about 1 in. diam.). 



1. ventricSsa, Welw. (M. africana, Bull, young 

 form). Whole plant 8-10 ft. high, not stoloniferous: 

 sts. much swollen, 4 ft. diam. at base: Ivs. oblanceolate- 

 oblong, 4-5 ft. long, thick in texture, bright green: 

 midrib pale red: spike drooping; calyx entire; free petal 

 entire, Y&o.. long: fr. coriaceous, dry, 2-3 in. long; seeds 

 about 1 in. diam., angled by pressure. Angola, in 

 rocky places near rivulets. Cult, in S. Calif. Tender 

 but more ornamental than M. Ensete. 



BB. Free petal 8-toothed or Idbed. 



c. Seeds few, large (about %-l in. diam.'). 



D. The seeds smooth. 



2. Ensete, Gmel. (M . abyssinica, Hort. Ensete edule, 

 Horan.). ABYSSINIAN BANANA. Fig. 2403. Whole 

 plant 30-40 ft. high, not stoloniferous: st. 13-20 ft. 

 high, swollen at the base: Ivs. oblong, acute, often 20 

 ft. long by 3 ft. wide; midrib red: bracts densely imbri- 

 cated, 9-12 in. long, dark claret-brown: spike erect; 

 fls. whitish, 1 3^-2 in. long, often 20 or more in a cluster; 

 calyx 3-lobed; free petal short, 3-lobed: fr. coriaceous, 

 dry, 2-3 in. long; seeds 1-4, black, glossy, nearly 1 in. 

 diam., with a prominent raised border around the 

 hilum. Mountains of Abyssinia. B.M. 5223, 5224. 

 R.H. 1861, p. 124, note; 1888, p. 32. G.C. II. 15:435; 

 21:19; III 16:697. Gn. 47, p. 5; 48, p. 406. V. 5:53. 

 F.E. 11:470. G.M. 52:655; 54:375. The largest 

 known, as well as one of the oldest (being represented 

 in ancient Egyptian sculptures), and most widely cult, 

 of all decorative bananas. Cult, in S. Calif, and Fla. 

 Prop, entirely from seed in hotbeds. Yields a good fiber. 



DD. The seeds longitudinally ribbed. 



3. Hdlstii, K. Schum. Whole plant 15-20 ft. high: 

 Ivs. 15-18 ft. long by 3 ft. wide: spike very large, droop- 

 ing; upper bracts covering the male fls. 8-10 in. long, 

 persistent; male fls. about J^in. long, stalked; calyx 

 l%in. long, more or less deeply lobed, lobes linear, 



cc. Seeds many, comparatively small (Yy-Yzin. diam.). 



D. Foliage glaucous. 

 E. Los. mucronate pointed, thick. 



4. religiosa, Dybowski. Whole plant about 8 ft. 

 high, forming a true bulb like M. Gilletii, 2-2% in. 

 diam., but differing in having roots from the whole 

 bulb instead of from the top of the bulb only: Ivs. 

 glaucous, oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, mucronate 

 pointed, dying down, the bulb going through a resting- 

 period: fls. undescribed: fr. full of seeds, inedible; 

 seeds smooth, black, brown or gray. French Congo. 

 R.H. 1901, pp. 157, 158. The Ivs. are thick and not 

 easily broken by the wind. Considered by some to be 

 more ornamental than M. Ensete. Intro, into U. S. 

 about 1908. 



BE. Lvs. not mucronate pointed, thin. 



5. Martretii, Cheval. Whole plant 20-25 ft. high: 

 Ivs. large, glaucous: fr. cylindrical, short, yellow; seeds 

 smooth, black, ^-^in. diam. Guinea. The fr. is 

 edible, but the pulp is not abundant and of indiffer- 

 ent quality. A good ornamental for S. Calif, and Fla. 

 Intro, into U. S. in 1908. 



DD. Foliage not glaucous. 

 E. The seeds tuberculate. 



6. Livingstoniana, J. Kirk. St. conical, 10-12 ft. high, 

 2-3 ft. diam. at the base: Ivs. crowded, narrow, oblong, 

 as long as st.; petiole broad, clasping, deeply grooved: 

 fr. 4 in. long, many-seeded; seeds liin. diam., globose, 

 angled by pressure, dull brown, tuberculate; hilum 

 deeply depressed, surrounded by prominent edges. 

 S. E. Trop. Afr., up to 7,000 ft. altitude. Decorative. 

 Yields a good fiber. Intro, into U. S. in 1907. 



EE. The seeds smooth. 

 F. Fls. 10-15 in a row. 



7. superba, Roxbg. Whole plant 10-12 ft. high, not 

 stoloniferous: st. 2-2^ ft. diam. at base, narrowing to 

 1 ft. below Ivs.: Ivs. 5 ft. long, oblong, narrowed to 

 base; petiole very short, deeply grooved: spike at first 

 globose, 1 ft. diam., one-third the length of st.; bracts 

 orbicular, dull claret-brown, up to 1 ft. long; fls. in 

 dense rows of 10-15 each; calyx 1 in. long, whitish, 

 formed of 3 loosely cohering segms.; free petal short, 

 3-toothed with a long linear central tooth: fr. oblong, 

 subcoriaceous, 3 in. long, \Yi in. diam.; seeds very 

 numerous, Ys~Y$&- diam., smooth, brown, subglobose, 

 angled by pressure. India. B.M. 3849, 3850. G.C. 

 III. 35:83. R.H. 1877, p. 277; 1888, p. 33. F. 1873, p. 

 273. Roxburgh, Plants of Coromandel, 3:223. Wight, 

 Icones Plantarum, 2017. Decorative, and yields a 

 poor fiber. 



FF. Fls. 8-7 in a row. 

 G. Fr. 2 in. long: free petal %in. long. 



8. Gilletii, De Wild. Whole plant 5-8 ft. high, not 

 stoloniferous: Ivs. about 5 ft. long: spike short, droop- 

 ing; fls. 5-6 in a row; free petal 3-toothed, nearly Y^va. 

 long: fr. about 2 in. long; seeds 9 or 10, about ^in. long. 

 Congo Free State. Cult, in Fla. 



GG. Fr. 4 in. long: free petal %in. long. 



9. Arnoldiana, De Wild. Whole plant 12-15 ft. high, 

 not stoloniferous: Ivs. 7 ft. long, 13 ft. diam. at base: 

 spike short, drooping; fls. 3-7 in each row; free petal 

 3-toothed, about %in. long: fr. nearly 4 in. long; seeds 

 12-16, about Hin- long, smooth, broadly pyriform. 

 Congo Free State. G.W. 9:401. Decorative and 

 showy. Cult, in S. Eu. 



