Musa sikkimensis (also called the Darjeeling banana) is a species of flowering plant found primarily in the northeast of the Indian Subcontinent, in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.
| Musa sikkimensis | |
|---|---|
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| Musa sikkimensis in the Quarryhill Botanical Garden | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Zingiberales |
| Family: | Musaceae |
| Genus: | Musa |
| Section: | Musa sect. Musa |
| Species: | M. sikkimensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Musa sikkimensis Kurz (1877)[1]
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The genus Musa is a part of the banana family, Musaceae, placed within the greater order of Zingiberales, along with many other well-known related species (such as cardamom, ginger, turmeric, heliconias, birds-of-paradise, canna and the prayer plants), in their respective families. Musa sikkimensis is named after the mountainous northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, as the species grows at some of the highest known elevations of any banana;[2] for example, in Yuksom, West Sikkim, the species has been noted as growing at roughly 1780 metres (5,840 feet) above sea level.
Description
editThe plant is robust and about 4 m tall with a yellowish-green foliage and reddish tinged pseudostem. The sheath is smudged with blackish-brown and is without wax when mature, unlike Musa nagensium which has thick wax deposits in the pseudostem sheaths. The bases of the lamina bear a red-purple colour when young, which gradually fades, latest on the midrib. The inflorescence far outshoots the pseudostem, producing an oblique fruit bunch.[3] The fruits are described as lax, arising from large, brown callosities on axis, angled at maturity. The pulp is scanty, dirty white to pale brownish-pink. Flowering and fruiting takes place from October to April.[2]
Known cultivars and hybrids
edit- Musa sikkimensis 'Bengal Tiger'[4]
- Musa sikkimensis 'Ever Red'[5]
- Musa sikkimensis 'Red Tiger'[6]
- Musa sikkimensis x Musa × paradisiaca 'Helen's Hybrid'[7]
References
edit- ^ Musa sikkimensis (1877) Kurz, W.S. Journal of the Agricultural & Horticultural Society of India Part 1. 5 (3):164
- ^ a b Noltie, H.J. (1994). Musa, in Flora of Bhutan 3(1): 178-182. Edinburgh: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
- ^ Simmonds, N. W. (1956). Botanical Results of the Banana Collecting Expedition, 1954-5. Kew Bulletin 11 (3): 463 - 489.
- ^ "Musa sikkimensis &s;Bengal Tiger&s; | Darjeeling banana &s;Bengal Tiger&s; /RHS".
- ^ "Musa Ever Red".
- ^ "Musa sikkimensis &s;Red Tiger&s; | Darjeeling banana &s;Red Tiger&s; Conservatory Greenhouse/RHS".
- ^ "Musa 'Helen's Hybrid', Banana 'Helen's Hybrid' in GardenTags plant encyclopedia".
External links
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