M USA. 
MS 
capitate, roundilh, with fix flight notches. Per'icarpium: 
berry pulpy, with a coriaceous coat, with three or fix flight 
angles, gibbous at one fide, of one cell, fpongy or hollow 
in the centre. Seeds: numerous, imbedded in the pulp, 
roundilh, roughifh, excavated at the bafe .—Effential Cha- 
raElcr. Calyx a many-flowered fheath, of one leaf; petal 
one, ligulate, five-toothed ; neftary of one leaf, oppofite 
tp the petal; berry inferior, with many feeds. Mott of 
the ftamens abortive in fome flowers, piftil in the others. 
There are four fpecies, befides varieties. 
i. Mufa paradiliaca, the plantain-tree: flower-ftalk 
drooping; male flowers permanent; fruit oblong. This 
plant riles with a foft herbaceous ftalk fifteen or twenty 
feet high; and the lower part of the ftalk is about a yard 
in circumference, diminilhing gradually to the top, where 
the leaves come out on every fide, which are often more 
than lix feet long, and near two feet broad, with a ftrong 
flefny midrib, and a great number of tranfverfe veins run¬ 
ning from the midrib to the borders. The leaves are 
thin and tender, though very large, fo that, where they 
are expofed to the open air, they are generally torn by 
the wind. Thefe leaves come out from the fide of the 
principal ftalk, inclofing it with their bafe ; they are 
rolled up at their firft appearance, but, when they are ad¬ 
vanced above the ftalk, they expand quite flat, and turn 
•backward ; as thefe leaves come up rolled in the manner 
before mentioned, their advance upward is fo quick, that 
their growth may be almoft difcerned by the naked eye; 
and, if a line be drawn acrofs, level with the top of the 
leaf, in an hour’s time the leaf will be nearly an inch 
above it. When the plant is grown to its full height, 
the fpike of flowers will appear from the centre of the 
leaves, which is often near four feet in length, and nods 
on one fide. The flowers come out in bunches, thofe on 
the lower part of the fpike being the largell; the others 
diminiflt in their fize upward; each of thefe bunches is 
covered with a fpathe or (heath, of a fine purple colour 
within, which drops oft' when the flowers open. The 
upper part of the fpike is made up of male or barren 
flowers, which are not fucceeded by fruit. The fruit is 
eight or nine inches long, and above an inch diameter, a 
little incurved, and has three angles; it is at firft green, 
but, when ripe, of a pale yellow colour; the Ikin is- tough, 
and within is a foft pulp of a lufcious Tweet flavour. The 
fpikes of fruit are often fo large as to weigh upwards of 
forty pounds. It is a native of the Eaft Indies, and other 
parts, of the’Afiatic continent ; probably alfo of Africa. 
Cultivated generally between the tropics. Said to have 
been tranfported to the Weft Indies, from tire Canary- 
illands, to which it is believed that it was carried origi¬ 
nally from Guinea. It feems to have migrated with man¬ 
kind from Alia into the numerous illands of the Southern 
Pacific Ocean, where it is universal in all the illands that 
are inhabited, and has degenerated into numerous varie¬ 
ties. It was not known in America before the arrival 
of the Spaniards. It was cultivated here in 1690, in the 
royal garden at Hampton-court; and commonly flowers 
with us from Odiober to December. 
Johnfon, the editor of Gerard’s Herbal], fays, that 
April 10, 1633, his much-honoured friend Dr. Argent, 
then prelident of the College of Phyficians in London, 
gave him a plant of the Mufa, which lie received from 
the Bermuda's. The fruit on it was unripe; but he hung 
up the ftalk with the fruit thereon in his fliop, where 
it became ripe about the beginning of May, and lafted 
until June; the pulp was very foft and tender, and it 
did eat fomewliat like a mulk-melon. Gerard and other 
old authors name it Adam's apple-tree, from a notion 
that it was the forbidden fruit of Eden ; whiift others 
fuppoi'ed this fruit to have been the grapes brought out 
of the promifed land to Moles. Dampier thus fpeaks 
of it: “ The plantain is the king of all fruit, not ex¬ 
cepting the-coco itfelf. The tree ■ is three feet, or three 
feet and a half, round, and ten or twelve high. It is 
not railed from feed, but from the roots of other old 
trees. If thefe young fuckers are taken out of the 
ground, and planted in another place, it will be fifteen 
months before they bear; but, if let Hand in their own 
native foil, they will bear in twelve months. As foon as 
the fruit is ripe the tree decays, and many young ones 
grow up to fupply its place. The fruit of it is lb ex¬ 
cellent, that the Spaniards give it the preference to all 
others, as moll conducing to life. It grows in a cod lix 
or feven inches long, and as big as a man’s arm ; the 
rind is foft, and yellow when ripe. It refembles in ihape 
a hog’s pudding. The inclol'ed fruit is no harder than 
butter is in winter, and much of the colour. It is of a 
delicate tafte, and melts in one’s mouth like marmalet. 
It is all pure pulp, without any feed, kernel, or ftone. 
The fruit is fo much efteemed by all Europeans that 
fettle in America, that, when they make a new plantation 
they commonly begin with a good plantain-walk; en¬ 
larging it as their family increafes. Some or other of the 
trees are bearing molt part of the year; and this is many 
times the whole food on which a family fubflits. They 
thrive only in rich flat ground ; poor Tandy foil .will not 
bear them. When this fruit is ufed only for bread, it is 
roafted or boiled when it is juft full grown, but not yet 
ripe, or turned yellow. The Indians and Negroes eat 
them in a variety of ways, both raw and drafted, frelh. 
and preferved: they all'o make a fermented liquor with 
them, which they drink always new. The ordinary people 
of Mindanao wear no other cloth but what is made from 
the fibres of the trunk.” 
In the Weft Indies the fruit is generally ufed when full 
grown, but before it ripens: it is commonly peeled and 
roafted, and is thus diftributed among the negroes, by 
whom it is moftly ufed; though many of the whites pre¬ 
fer it to any of the bread kind, efpecially whilft young 
and tender. The negroes generally boil it with other 
meffes, as fall-filh, beef, pork, pickle, or crabs ; and find 
it a hearty wholel'ome food. As the fruit ripens, it be¬ 
comes foft and fweetilh, and is then generally made into 
tarts, or diced and fried with butter. The juice of the 
tree is a very rough aftringent. The leaves are gene¬ 
rally ufed to drefs blifters; and when dried are made 
into mats, or employed to ftuft’mattreffes. The Spaniards 
dry and preferve the fruit as a fweetmeat. The ripe fruit 
and maize together are the beft food for hogs put up to 
fat, and give them a moft exquilite flavour and firmnefs. 
On thrufting a knife into the body of the plant, the 
aftringent limpid water that ifl'ues out is given with great 
fuccefs to perl'ons fubjeft to a fpitting of blood, and in 
fluxes. The fruit of fome out of the many varieties is 
eaten in the illands of the South Seas raw, of others 
roafted or baked, according to their different qualities. 
The trees which bear the former are the chief ornaments 
of the gardens in Otaheite; the latter are in the moun¬ 
tainous trails of the illands that are covered with woods. 
This fruit is eafy of digeftion, very wholefome and agree¬ 
able to Teamen after a long voyage: to many however its 
clammy fweetnefs is unpleafant; and it is reputed to dis¬ 
agree with weak ftomachs, and to bring on a conftipation 
and flatulency of the bowels. On the annexed Plate, the 
plantain-tree is reprelented at fig. 1. Fig. a reprefents 
the fruit half ftripped of its bark ; b, the fruit cut through 
the middle; c, the fruit cut tranfverfely, diftinguilhing 
the three cells and the feeds; d, another variety cut tranl- 
verfely, reprefented in the Hortus Malabaricus, but hav¬ 
ing the cells better diftinguifned here. 
2. Mufa fapientum, the banana-tree : flower-ftalk droop¬ 
ing; male flowers deciduous; fruit ovate. This fpecies 
differs from the preceding in having its ftalks marked 
with dark purple ftripes and lpots; the fruit is Ihorter 
and rounder, with a l'ofter pulp of a more lufcious tafte. 
Dampier fays the banana is lei's lufcious than the plan¬ 
tain, yet of a more delicate tafte. According to Long, 
it has a fofter mellower tafte, and is more proper for 
fritters than the plantain. A very excellent drink, re- 
fembling the beft Southam cider, is made from the juice 
