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Musa

Family

Musaceae

Common names

Banana, Plantain

A genus of herbaceous monocotyledons attaining, in some species, a giant size and tree-like aspect. The leaves and flower-stalks spring from a rhizome, the apparent aerial stem being made up of the sheathing leaf-bases. For an account of the cultivated bananas (Musa and Ensete) see Baileya, Vol. 5 (1957), pp. 167-194.

Species articles