Musa maclayi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Musa maclayi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Zingiberales |
| Family: | Musaceae |
| Genus: | Musa |
| Section: | Musa sect. Callimusa |
| Species: | M. maclayi |
| Binomial name | |
| Musa maclayi | |
Musa maclayi is a species of seeded banana native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.[1] It is placed in section Callimusa (now including the former section Australimusa).[3] It is regarded as one of the progenitors of the Fe'i banana cultivars.[4]
The plant has red sap and an upright flowering and fruiting stem.[5] The fruits are rounded and arranged closely together in bunches – partly joined along their edges in some varieties.[4]
The species was named after the explorer and naturalist Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay, who first described it:
"Besides the cultivated varieties, which have been obtained by exchange between the villages, there is to be found in the forest a wild Banana (Musa Maclayi F. v. M. [Ferdinand von Mueller]), compared to the cultivated varieties, with a tall stem (nearly twice as tall), with narrow stiff leaves and small (not edible) fruits full of seeds."
