MUSA 



MUSANGA 



2079 



and base bright green, skin very thick. India. — Flavor 

 good. Tender. 



\ax. (c) sanguinea, Welw. Lvs. and fr. strongly 

 tinged with blood-red. — Intro, into cult, in Eu. in 1903. 



Var. (f) vittAta, Hook. Lvs. and long frs. cojiioiisly 

 striped wit h white and rose : bracts bright red inside, hsl. 

 of St. Thonuus, W. Afr. B.M. 5-402.— Very decorative. 



Var. (g) tematensis, Blanco. Chotd.\ Dama. Whole 

 plant 5-<5 ft. high: tls. about 20 to a cluster; caly.x often 

 coronate at maturity; free petal pitted at the outer tip: 

 fr. with 3-5 prominent angles; seeds rare. Philippine 

 Isls. — Cult, ajso in Guam. One of the most palatable 

 varieties. 



Var. (h) magna, Blanco. Chotda Tandaqtte. Fr. 

 3- to several-angled at maturity, over 1 ft. long by 3 

 in. diam., more palatable when cooked. Philippine 

 Isls. — Cult, also in Guam. Cloth is made from the 

 fiber but it is not of as good quality as that from abaca. 



Var. (i) suaveolens, Blanco. Bcngul.\n. Fr. usually 

 green, with yellowish spots at maturity; angles not 

 conspicuous, obliterated at maturity; flesh fragrant 

 and very palatable. Phihppines. — Cult, in Guam. 



Var. (j) Lacatan, Blanco. Lacatan. Fls. about 14 to 

 a cluster; calyx 5-toothed, the 3 alternate teeth large: 

 fr. angled-obtuse at apex; flesh fragrant, firm. Philip- 

 pines. Cult, in Guam. Blanco, Flora de Filipinas, 

 12:88 (1877). — One of the most palatable varieties. 



aaa. Fr. unknown. (Subsp. sapienium.) 



Var. (k) oleracea, Baker {M. oleracea, Vieill.). A 

 flowerless form with a glaucous, violet st. and elon- 

 gated, thick, tumip-hke rhizome, which is boiled or 

 roasted like a yam, and resembles it in taste. Intro, 

 from New Caledonia, where it does not flower. B.M. 

 7S02. — The tubers have "eyes" like a potato and the 

 plant may be prop, by division. Cult, in Eu. where 

 fls. have been produced but no fr. 



Subsp. (11) troglodytaniin, Baker (M. troglodylarum, 

 Linn.). Spike erect in the lower half, drooping in the 

 upper half: fr. small, crowded on the lower erect por- 

 tion, oblong, cylindric, reddish yellow, containing 

 nidimentary seeds; flesh sweet, yellow. India and 

 Malaya. Blanco, Flora de Filipinas 12:88 (1877).— 

 The favorite food of elephants. Rarely cult, in the U. S. 



Subsp. (Ill) seminifera, Baker (M. seminifera. 

 Lour.). Frs. .small, oblong, full of seed, yellowish or 

 greenish. Not edible. This apparently represents the 

 wild seed-bearing form. Found wild in India, the 

 Malayan and Philippine Isls. 



AAA. St. slender, cylindrical: male fls. few to a bract: fr. 

 not generally edible: usually stoloniferous. {Sub- 

 genus Rhodochlamys.) 



B. Lvs. green on both sides. 



c. Rachis of the infl. glabrous. 



D. Free petal nearly as long as the calyx. 



16. Uranosc6pos, Lour. (A/, coccinea, Andr.). Sto- 

 loniferous: St. 4-5 ft. high, 2-3 in. diam.: lvs. oblong, 

 2-3 ft. long, 6-9 in. wide; petiole long and slender: 

 spike erect, dense, about 4 ft. long; bracts brilliant 

 scarlet, tipped with yellow, the lower 6 in. long; cal>'x 

 yellow, 1 in. or more long; free petal nearly as long as 

 the calyx: fr. oblong, .3-angled, not edible; seeds very 

 small, rarelv jjroduced in cult. S. China. Botanists 

 Repository "47. Redoute, Lihacese, 307, 308. B.M. 

 1.5.59. L.B.C. 5:475. F.S. 7:722,723. Martins, Flora 

 Bra.sil. 3:1. — Intro, into cult, in 1791 and now widely 

 flistribut<Ki. Very showy. May be grown in 10-in. 

 pots for winter decorations of tropical houses. 



DD. Free petal much shorter than the calyx. 



17. Mannii, Wendl. Stoloniferous: sts. .slender, 

 cyHndrical, tinged with black, 2-3 ft. high, 3' 2 in. 



circum. at base: spike erect, 6 in. long; female fls. in 

 3 clusters of 3 fls. each, their bracts deciduous; male 

 bracts crowded, pale crimson, 3—4 in. long; calyx pale 

 yellow, IK in. long: free petal much .shorter: fr. small, 

 3-4 in. long, fusiform with a broad truncate apex. 

 Assam. B.M. 7311. — Intro, into Eu. in 1893, and into 

 U. S. in 1901. 



cc. Rachis of the infl. pubescent. 

 D. Free petal nearly equaling the calyx. 



18. sanguinea, Hook. f. Stoniferous:st. very slender, 

 4-5 ft. high: lvs. oblong, thin, bright green, 2-3 ft. long, 

 5-8 in. wide; petiole slender, 1 ft. long: spike at first 

 erect, drooping when mature; female fls. in 2-6 clus- 

 ters of 2-3 fls. each; male clusters few, dense; bracts 

 lanceolate, somewhat persistent, blood-red, lower 6 in. 

 long; calyx bright yellow, 1-1)4 in. long; free petal 

 nearly as long as the calyx: fr. oblong, 3-angled, rather 

 pulpy, pale green variegated with red, glabrous, 2 in. 

 long; seeds angled, small, black, tubercular. Assam. 

 B.M. 5975. — Decorative and showy. 



DD. Free petal much shorter than the calyx. 



19. rftbra, Wall. St. slender, 4-6 ft. high: lvs. 

 oblong-lanceolate, 1^-2 ft. long, 6-9 in. wide; petiole 

 long and slender: spike dense, erect; bracts bright red, 

 lower 1 ft. long and sterile, upper 2-4-fld.; calyx yel- 

 low; free petal half as long as the calyx: frs. in 3-4 

 clusters of 3-4 each, cylindrical, dry, l}^-2 in. long; 

 seeds smooth, dull brown, 3^in. diam. India. B.M. 

 7451.— Cult, in Eu. 



BB. Lvs. glaucous beneath. 



20. sumatrana, Becc. Whole plant 7-8 ft. high: st. 

 slender: lvs. .5-6 ft. long, IH ft- wide, glaucous, with 

 irregular blotches of claret-brown; petiole 1 ft. long; 

 rachis pubescent: spike more or less drooping; lower 

 bracts distant: fr. dry, cylindrical, curved, 2-3 in. long, 

 i^in. diam. Sumatra, 1,100 ft. altitude. I.H. 27:.375. 

 F.S. 10:1061 (as M. zebrina, probably a young form 

 of this species, and is very decorative). 



BBB. Lvs. red beneath. 



21. rosacea, Jacq. (M. ornata, Roxbg. M. speciosa, 

 Ten. M. CaroRra*', Sterler.). Whole plant 4-6 ft. high, 

 stoloniferous: st. 3-5 ft. high, 3-4 in. diam.: lvs. hnear- 

 oblong, firm, 3 ft. long, 9-12 in. wide, purplish beneath: 

 spike more or less drooping, 1 ft. long; bracts ovate- 

 lanceolate, pale blue or reddish lilac, the lower 6-8 in. 

 long; male fls. deciduous, more numerous than the 

 female; calyx yellow, 1 in. long: fr. oblong, obscurely 

 4-5-angled, yellowish green, 2-3 in. long; pulp very 

 scant, scarcely edible; seeds J/j^in. diam., black tuber- 

 cled, rarely produced in cult, plants. India. B.R. 706. 

 L.B.C. 7:615.— Intro, into Calif, in 1898. 



M. assdmica, Hort. Bull. Trunk about 1 H ft- high: lvs. about 

 1 ft. long, crowded, running out into a slender tendril-like point, 

 green with a narrow purple border. Assam. This elegant dwarf 

 plant allied to AI. sanguinea is well suited for table decoration. — M. 

 imperidiis, .Sprenger. A magnificent species with perennial root- 

 stock and enormous somewhat lanceolate lvs. Related to M. Ensete. 

 Kamerun. Cult, in Eu. Fls. and fr. not described. — M. Rhodo- 

 chlAmys, Hprt. A subgenus of Musa improperly used in some trade 

 catalogues as a species. See species 16-21. p j^ RiCKER, 



MUSANGA (W. African name). Moracese. One 

 W. Trop. .African tree allied to Cecropia, recommended 

 abroad as shade in cocoa and coffee plantations and 

 also as an ornamental foliage plant : lvs. large, alternate, 

 long-petioled, peltate, divided into 11-15 entire segms. : 

 panicle of small male fls. solitary in axils, of the female 

 twin in the axils. A/, cecropimdes, Br. (A/. Smilhii, 

 R. Br., not Benth.), is de.scribed by Hiern as "a very 

 elegant tree, 12-15 ft. high, branched a little above the 

 ba.se, with a broad head and good wood suitable for 

 house-building: lvs. digitate; Ifts. 6, X-VA ft. long; 

 common petiole more than 7 in. long. (A/. Smilhii, 

 Benth, Niger F\.^Maearanga hclerophylla, Muell. Arg., 

 a plant apparently not cult.) 



