294 
CXLI. MUSACE^E. 
[Musa. 
Spike decurved. 
Bracts lanceolate brown; stem thin slender . (i) M. malaccensis 
Bracts oblong purple violet; stem stout, i ft. 
through . . . . , . . (2) M. truncata 
Bracts ovate broad, bright yellow . . . {3) M. flava 
Spike erect. 
Bracts acuminate violet . . . (4) M. violascens 
(1) M. malaccensis Ridl. Trans. Linn. Soc. iii. 383; Mat. 
ii. 63. 
Stems 10 ft. tall or more, 6 in. through. Leaves 8 ft. long, 
barred or splashed brown when young. Spike decurved; rachis 
brown hairy. Bracts lanceolate sub-acute dark brown. Male 
flowers 1*5 in. long, curved white. Female flowers 16 in a row. 
Fruit sub-cylindric, 4 in. long, yellow, pulp scanty sweet. Hab. 
Common in hill forests, often in immense quantity. Malacca, 
Panchur (Goodenough); Ching. Pahang River. Selangor, Kwala 
Lumpur and up to Ginting Sempah to 1500 ft. altitude. Perak, 
Thaiping Hills; Kamuning; Batang Padang Valley. Adang 
islands, Pulau Tengah. Kelantan, Kwala Krai (Haniff). 
var. minor Ridl. Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br. 59, p. 205. A 
dwarf form 6 ft. tall. Leaves 14 in. long, 2 in. across; rachis 
glabrous. Bracts oblong blunt, 3 in. long, 1 in. wide (in male 
part). Flowers 1-25 in. long. Fruit 2 in. long, cylindric angled 
obscurely. Perlis, limestone rocks at Bukit Lagi (Ridley). Per¬ 
haps specifically distinct. Native names: Pisang Karok; Pisang 
Surong. Use : The fruit is edible and used by wild tribes, but 
the pulp is scanty. 
(2) M. truncata Ridl. Journ. FM.S. Mus. iv. 80. 
A big banana, stem 20 ft. tall, 1 ft. through, purple brown. 
Leaves 20 ft. long, 2-5 ft. wide, green, base round, tip truncate with 
midrib projecting as a filament; petioles thick, 45 in. long. Spike 
pendulous, 4 ft. long. Bud deep violet acute. Bracts purple 
violet (young maroon pink). Male flowers 1-5 in. long. Calyx 
boat-shaped, longer than corolla, 4-lobed. Fruit narrow cylindric, 
5 in. long in two rows of 11 each in a bract. Hab. Dense forests 
at about 2000 ft altitude, above the zone of M. malaccensis and 
M. violascens. Pahang, Telom. Selangor, Ginting Sempah, Perak, 
Thaiping Hills (Ridley). 
(3) M. flava Ridl. Trans. Linn. Soc. iii. 383; Mat. ii. 63. 
Leaves large, 16 in. across. Spike decurved pubescent. Bracts 
broadly ovate blunt leathery, 4 in. long, 1*5 in. wide, bright yellow. 
Male flowers 16 in a row shortly pedicelled. Calyx 5 in. long, 
teeth 5, equal. Corolla -75 in, long, oblong mucronate. Female 
flowers 16 in a row. Fruit 2 in. long, 5-angled. Hab. Rare. 
Pahang River at Pulau Tijau (Ridley). 
(4) M. violascens Ridl. Trans. Linn. Soc. iii. 384; Mat. ii. 64. 
Stems slender, 8 to 10 ft. tall. Leaves 10 in. across, glaucous 
beneath. Spike erect acute. Bracts lanceolate narrow acute 
