Note on the Fertilisation of Musa, Strelitzia 
reginae, and Ravenala madagascariensis. 
BY 
G. F. SCOTT-ELLIOT, M.A. Cantab., B.Sc. Edin. 
With Plate XIV. 
Musa. 
/ 'T''HE flowers are some i\ inches long and arranged in 
X whorls along the drooping peduncles. The three 
sepals and two inferior petals are united into a tubular sheath 
enclosing the stamens and style. There is a slight exudation 
of gum at the tip of this sheath which renders the union of 
the parts very close. 
The odd petal eventually emerges between the superior 
sepals and swells out into a sort of concave dome guarding 
the honey (see Fig. 21). 
Partly by this emergence, and partly by intercalary growth 
of the two lower petals, the sheath enclosing the stamens and 
style is forced open. There does not appear to be an 
explosion of pollen (as in Ravenala ), but on emergence the 
sheath and stamens are strongly bent downwards and the 
style curved upwards. In this position the flower is ready 
for fertilisation, and the position of the stigma above the 
stamens will lead to cross-fertilisation although self-fertilisa- 
tion is not excluded. 
The following additional details may be worth noticing. There is a marked 
S-shaped curve in the middle line of the superior petal. As may be well seen from 
young flowers, this is due to the petal (while enclosed in the sheath) being unable 
[Annals of Botany, Vol. IV. No. XIV. May 1890.] 
