PLANTAIN OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 329 



of California, P. Lindeniana, and F. mexicana, of ^lexico, are 

 said to be distinct species. Plane Tree wood is much prized by 

 cabinetmakers, as it takes a fine polish. 



Plane Tree, Scotch, a general name in Scotland for the 

 different species of the genus Ace7' or Maple. 



Plantain (^Musct paradisiaca) and Banana (3f. sajnenticm), 

 perennial herbs, having long, vertical, sheathing leaf- stalks 

 overlapping one another, forming soft stems, 4 to 15 or more 

 feet high; from the top of the sheath broad leaves expand 

 6 to 10 feet in length ; the fruit is produced in a bunch from 

 the top of the sheathing stem, each bunch weighing 40, 60, 

 or even more pounds. The Plantain and Banana are by some 

 supposed to be two distinct species, but their numerous varieties 

 seem to defy the limits to which of the species many of the 

 forms belong. As food plants they have been cultivated in all 

 ages throughout the tropics, and are now so thoroughly universal 

 that it is extremely difficult to assign any place as their native 

 habitat. They produce food for millions of people, far surpassing 

 in quantity that of any other plant in proportion to the space it 

 occupies. It has been calculated that the same area required to 

 yield 33 lbs. of wheat, or 99 lbs. of potatoes, will produce 4400 

 lbs. of Plantains. 



The young fruit surrounds the flower-stalk or spadix in 

 clusters, and when ripe is of a yellow colour. Each fruit is from 

 6 to 8 inches long, and 4 to 5 inches in circumference. It is of 

 a soft pulpy nature and agreeable flavour, being moreover highly 

 nutritious. The Banana is eaten fresh when ripe, but the fruic 

 of the Plantain is roasted and eaten before it attains its full 

 maturity. In general the stems of Bananas rise 10 to 15 feet 

 high, and are liable to be injured or even destroyed by high 

 winds ; a remedy for this has, however, been found in Musci 

 chinensis, which is also cultivated under the name of 3Iicsa 

 Cavendishii, the stems of which are rarely more than 4 to 5 

 feet high and very stout. This last variety has been success- 

 fully introduced into the Navigator's, Fiji, and other islands of 

 the Pacific, and is much valued by the natives on account of its 



