Blood banana

Taxonomy and nomenclature

The blood banana is a variety of the wild banana species Musa acuminata, one of the two ancestors of modern edible bananas. It was once classified as separate species under the now invalid names (synonyms) Musa zebrina and Musa sumatrana. It was also sometimes incorrectly classified as a cultivar. The variety is not accepted by some sources, including the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, which regards it as part of the nominate subspecies of Musa acuminata, M. acuminata subsp. acuminata.

The blood banana is also known as the red banana tree, though it should not be confused with the red banana cultivar. Other common names in English include seeded red banana, Sumatra ornamental banana, and maroon-variegated banana plant. They are also known as banano rojo in Spanish, ゼブリナバナナ (ja) in Japanese, กล้วยมะนี (th) in Thai, and chuối kiểng in Vietnamese.

Description

Blood bananas are characterized by dark red patches of variable sizes on their dark green leaves. Their pseudostems are characteristically very slender. They bear small, slender fruits filled with grape-like seeds.

Distribution

Blood bananas are native to Java, Indonesia. They are notable for being one of the earliest banana subspecies to be spread by humans out of Southeast Asia. Introduced westward to Africa, they became the ancestors for the genetically distinct and commercially important East African Highland bananas (Mutika/Lujugira subgroup of the AAA group).

It is probably the only seeded banana to ever be introduced into Hawaii before European contact. It is known as the mai{{okina}}a {{okina}}oa in Hawaiian, though the name is also applied to the species Musa balbisiana, which was introduced later on.

Gallery

Image:Musa sumatrana2.jpg|Essentially unpatterned young plant at Longwood Gardens Image:Musa sumatrana (Red Banana Tree).jpg|Closeup of a strongly patterned leaf image:Musa sumatrana1.jpg|Inflorescence

References

References

1. "Musa sumatrana 'Zebrina' Rojo Banana from AgriStarts".
2. {{GRIN
3. "''Musa acuminata var. zebrina''". [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]].
4. Michel H. Porcher. (March 22, 2011). "Sorting Musa names". The University of Melbourne.
5. (2007). "Banana and plantain — an overview with emphasis on the Pacific island cultivars". Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry.