156 BOTANY OF CONGO. 



Banana or Plantain, the Lime, the Orange, the Tamarind, 

 and the Sugar Cane, may be considered as of Asiatic 

 origin. 



In a former part of this essay, I have suggested that a careful 

 investigation of the geographical distribution of genera 

 might in some cases lead to the determination of the native 

 country of plants at present generally dispersed. The value 

 of the assistance to be derived from the source referred to, 

 would amount to this ; that, in doubtful cases, where other 

 arguments were equal, it would appear more probable that 

 the plant in question should belong to that country in which 

 all the other species of the same genus were found decidedly 

 indigenous, than to that where it was the only species of 

 the genus known to exist. It seems to me that this reason- 

 ■170] ing may be applied with advantage towards determining 

 the original country of several of the plants here enumerated, 

 especially of the Banana, the Papaw, the Capsicum, and 

 Tobacco. 



The Banana is generally considered to be of Indian 

 origin : Baron Humboldt, however, has lately suggested^ 

 that several species of Musa may possibly be confounded 

 under the names of Plantain and Banana ; and that part of 

 these species may be supposed to be indigenous to America. 

 How far the general tradition said to obtain both in Mexico, 

 and Terra Pirma, as well as the assertion of Garcilasso de 

 la Vega respecting Peru, may establish the fact of the Musa 

 having been cultivated in the new continent before the 

 arrival of the Spaniards/ I do not mean at present to 

 inquire. But in opposition to the conjecture referred to, 

 it may be advanced that there is no circumstance in the 

 structure of any of the states of the Banana or Plantain 

 cultivated in India, or the islands of equinoctial Asia, to 

 prevent their being all considered as merely varieties of one 

 and the same species, namely, Musa sapientum ; that their 



' Nout). Espag. vol. 2, p. 360. 



2 Op. cii., p. 361. It may be observed, however, that this is not the opinion 

 ill every part of the continent of South America, for with respect to Brazil, 

 Marcgraf and Piso assert that both the Banana and Plantain are considered as 

 introduced plants, and the latter apparently from Congo. {Marcg. p. 137, et 

 Piso Hist, Nat, Bras. p. 154.) 



