492 Use of the Pimng and Banana. 



with vegetables, as we do carrots and turnips, &c. The flesh of 

 the fruit remains pretty firm, but has a good taste, and gives the 

 soup a greyisli colour. 



There are a great many varieties of this species which I have 

 particularly examined. 



a. Musa paradisiaca var. domijiica. Dominique. — Intro- 

 duced from the Island of St. Domingo. A platane, or pisang, 

 with a stem 10 ft. in height, and frequently higher; and spotted 

 with black and brownish-red spots, and the petiole of the leaf 

 the same. The fruit is small, never more than half a foot long, 

 and 1 in. thick; the outer covering of a pale yellow colour, arid 

 the flesh darker, always a little tough, but of a very good and 

 aromatic taste, and quite uninjurious when eaten. This species 

 is usually eaten when ripe, and only when the other species 

 cannot be obtained. They boil or fry it in the same manner ; 

 and, as the fruit is smaller, it is more rarely to be met with, and 

 not so much cultivated. 



b. Mus^L paradisiaca var. — Another variety, called topocho 

 by the Indians, and not very different from the foregoing. 

 The stem, however, is smaller, 6 or 7 feet in height, and the 

 leaves are of a deeper red, and ash grey-coloured underneath. 

 The fruit resembles the former exactly in size and taste, and 

 is borne in much the same quantity. 



2. Mus?i sapientwn. Banane ; Camhure. — This species is 

 very different from the first mentioned, and is much less culti- 

 vated, as its fruit is generally eaten ripe, or in a raw state, and 

 more on account of its agreeable flavour than as an article of 

 food. In some parts of South America, however, I found it 

 very much cultivated, and it was the favourite fruit of the 

 Indians ; and, when there is a scarcity of pisang, this species 

 of Musa supplies its place. The stem is 10 or 12 feet in 

 height, and is green, marked with red. The fruit is small, being 

 only 3 in. long, and 2 in. broad. Some of the varieties are 

 much smaller, and of an oval form ; but the flavour of these 

 is considered the best. The flesh and outward covering is of a 

 pale yellow. This species is generally eaten, when ripe, in an 

 uncooked state; but it is sometimes eaten with sugar, like pisang. 

 The soup in which it is boiled assumes a brownish violet colour. 

 There are several varieties of this species, such as — 

 MiisQ. sapientum colorada (\osea). Red Banana. — This is 

 undoubtedly one of the prettiest musas. The stem is from 

 12 ft. to 15 ft. in height, the leaves long and slender, and the 

 colour of the stem and petiole of the leaf of a reddish brown. 

 The fruit is 1 ft. long, and 2 or 3 inches thick, rounded at the 

 ends. The outward covering is reddish brown; the flesh a pale 

 yellow, very soft, juicy, and aromatic. It is only eaten when 

 ripe, and in an uncooked state. 



