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CLASSIFICATION OF THE BANANAS 
The genus Musa belongs to the family Musaceae and embraces 
numerous species, some of which have many varieties and races. 
Baker 10 considers that this genus comprises three subgenera, 
namely, Physocaulis, Eumusa, and Rhodochlamys, which he de- 
fines and describes as follows : 
1. Sub-genus Physocaulis (sivollen-stemmed Musas) . — Stem bottle-shaped 
and usually not stoloniferous. Flowers many to a bract. Petal usually 
tricuspidate. Fruit not edible. In this group are all the species known 
to be indigenous to Africa, namely: M. ventricosa, M. Bachanani, M. living- 
stoniana, and M. proboscidea. 
2. Sub-genus Eumusa ( true Musas). — Stem cylindrical, gradually taper- 
ing from the base, usually stoloniferous. Flowers many to a bract. Petal 
ovate-acuminate. Bracts green, brown, or dull violet. Fruit usually edible. 
The species in this group divide naturally, according to their height, into 
dwarf-stemmed and tall-stemmed species. The dwarf are two Chinese spe- 
cies, M. lasiocarpa and M. Cavendishii. The tall are M. sapientum and its 
allies, about a dozen species in all. They are widely distributed throughout 
Eastern Asia, India to China, Japan, Borneo, New Guinea, North Queens- 
land, and the Islands of the Pacific. 
3. Sub-genus Rhodochlamys ( red-bracteated Musas). — Stem cylindrical 
as in true Musas, usually stoloniferous. Flowers few to a bract. Petal 
linear. Fruit usually not edible. Bracts bright colored, often red. Twelve 
species are included here. One only (M. maculata) yields edible fruit. The 
others, such as M. coccinea, M. rubra, M. velutina, and M. aurantiaca, 
owing to their brightly coloured bracts, are very ornamental. All are from 
India, Assam, Sumatra, Java, and Cochin-China. 
The subgenus Eumusa includes the important cultivated spe- 
cies, such as bananas and plantains. These two species are 
widely cultivated in the tropics ; the bananas include very many 
varieties, which are badly confused. Their fruits when ripe 
can be eaten without cooking, except in a few cases. The plan- 
tains have coarser fruits, which are only agreeable to eat after 
being cooked. 
A later discussion of the classification of the Musaceae is given 
by K. Schumann . 11 He adopts three sections of the genus. His 
arrangement of the series of distinct forms related to paradisiaca 
and sapientum I regard as of doubtful value. Here sapientum 
appears as a subspecies of paradisiaca, while another subspecies 
seminifera includes seeded forms, and a fourth is troglodytarum 
with erect inflorescence. It appears to me, that so far as cul- 
tivated musas are concerned, a monograph must be of little value 
10 Kew Bull., Add. ser. VI pt. 2 (1906) 10. 
11 Das Pflanzenreich 1 (1900) 1-45. 
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