34 



Mahl-bhog or mohun-bhog. Highly esteemed by some, but probably 

 not much superior to the kuntela. 



Ram kela. In good condition a remarkably fine fruit, much resem- 

 bling in flavour and buttery consistency the daccde. The stem and 

 footstalks and midribs are of a dark red colour, also the flowers. The 

 fruit is about 7 inches long and rather thin. This Firminger names Musa 

 rubra, now reduced as a variety of M. sapientum. On the other hand 

 M. rubra of Wallich is a seed-bearing species allied to M. coccinea. 



Dwarf or Chinese Plantain \_M. Cavendishii]. In Calcutta this is 

 exceedingly difficult to obtain in perfection, as it is uneatable till quite 

 ripe, and on its becoming ripe commences almost immediately to decay. 



Arracan plantain. Sent from Arracan by Captain Ripley, who 

 observed, " If well manured the fruit of this tree is one of the best 

 plantains there is ; the old trees yield particularly fine fruit." Besides 

 the above, Captain Ripley sent to Calcutta eighteeu other named sorts of 

 plantains from Arracan, of eleven of which he wrote in high commen- 

 dation. The moungbya has the skin " of a dead white and very thick." 



Captain Ripley was acquainted with 19 kinds, described by him 

 from Arracan in the Proceedings of the Agri.-Hort. Soc. India, x., 

 pp. 50, 51. 



The hnet-pyau-meng (royal plantain) has fruits up to 15 inches 

 in length and as large round as the fist. It is generally eaten roasted 

 whole in the skin. Rakoing -hnet-pyau-bhee or Arracan plantain (Musa 

 arakanensis, Ripley) mentioned above is also valuable for its fibre. 

 Nothing further is known of this plant. Specimens of it are desirable 

 for herbarium purposes. 



In the Punjab the kela, which may be a true plantain (M. paradisiaca) 

 is largely grown towards the east of the plains of this province. There 

 are fewer varieties and the quality of the fruit is poorer in the Punjab 

 than to the east and south. At Mussooree, in the North Western Pro- 

 vinces, there are only three kinds of bananas cultivated. These are 

 rai kela, bara kela, and chota kela. In Oudh the only plantain 

 that flourishes is a large-fruited one called desee kela. A small sweet 

 fruit called jmritban, probably a local corruption of Martaban, and the 

 cheenee champa or red Bombay, are also grown, but neither thrives well. 



Ceylon. 



Moon, in his catalogue of Ceylon plants, gives only the Singhalese 

 names and their English equivalents. His list of bananas (pp. 71-72) 

 comprises as many as 47 kinds, thus rendering Ceylon richest in 

 varieties, the Indian Archipelago alone excepted. 



Of Musa paradisiaca (" anawalu-kesel " of the Singhalese) Moon 

 enumerates the following : — Wild, growing on the mountains : anawalu- 

 kesel aetamburu (seed), and anawdlu-kesel-gal (rock). Cultivated : 

 are names with the following English equivalents : sour, sooty, parrot, 

 black, buffalo, champac, lion, and monkey. 



Of Musa sapientum (" kesel " of the Singhalese) there are wild, 

 growing on the mountains : kesel ael (hill), kesel aeta (seed), kesel 

 titta-kadali (bitter), kesel wal-suwanda (wild -fragrant), and kesel 

 wal-wanduru (wild monkeys). Of the cultivated sorts belonging to 

 this series Moon gives 25 under their Singhalese names and their 

 equivalents. Amongst the latter are such names as water (kesel 

 diya), black (kesel kalu), and others known as eared, fragrant, 

 cornered, scented, golden, cracker, pingo, clustered, bitter, fool's, 

 powdered, &c 



