10 types of banana trees – Some species of the genus Musa
Bananas or bananas are one of the best known and most loved fruits, but many people do not even ask what plant they are obtained from. The banana trees or bananas are perennial herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. At first glance it is easy to confuse them with palm trees, but they really have nothing to do with it, since banana trees do not have a trunk. What appears to be a stem is actually a pseudostem made up of tightly packed leaf sheaths. They only form aerial stem when they bloom. They have the true stem underground and this is what is known as a rhizome, which only rises to the outside in very old specimens.
Even among those who know these plants there is a belief that they are strictly tropical plants, and this is not true. From which the fruits sold in greengrocers are extracted, they are tropical, but there are many other species that are very resistant to cold. The most cold-resistant banana tree, muse basjoowithstands temperatures close to -20ºC. Below you will see the most important and striking species that we have selected for each of the two types of banana: tropical and cold resistant.
It is not a species in itself but a set of hybrids and cultivars of Acuminate muse y balbisian muse. It is usually called this way to all large banana trees that bear edible fruit, commercial banana trees. Next we will see some plants included in this name.
Acuminate muse
One of the parents of Heavenly Muses. It is called the Malaysian banana or red banana, since their bananas have a reddish color. It has a large area of distribution since it inhabits Southeast Asia, like most species of the genus. and also part of the islands of Oceania near Asia. Usually the fruit of wild specimens is not edible and is full of black seeds. Its size is highly variable, from more than 7m high to less than a couple of meters. Wild plants are usually completely green, with a layer of wax that gives them a slightly bluish hue.
Acuminate muse ‘red dacca’
to cultivate (really set of cultivars) Musa acuminate ornamental with completely red fruits and pseudostem. Their bananas are edible, taste good and do not develop seedsbut it is not common to see it in plantations. In Central America it is fairly common to find these bananas for sale, but in Spain if you want to try them, you have to buy the plant and wait for it to bear fruit. It tends to be medium-sized (over 5m tall) with a very fast growth, so it can be grown in frosty climates as an annual plant, taking advantage of its tropical appearance during the summer.
Musa acuminata ‘Cavendish’
Another set of cultivars. Cavendish-type banana trees are the most important commercially, generating more than 90% of banana production today.. They are medium-sized plants that produce yellow seedless fruits. The fruit is less tasty than that of other cultivars, but due to the robustness of the plant and the amount of bananas it produces, it is the most widely used. Canarian banana trees are of this type. There is a dwarf cultivar, Acuminate muse ‘dwarf cavendish’ which is widely used in gardening. They usually have a reddish pseudostem with black spots. In the young and vigorous specimens the leaves usually present reddish and metallic spots.
balbisian muse
The other parent of Heavenly Muses. It is a large plant (up to 7m in height and more than 30cm at the base of the pseudostem) with long leaves with yellowish green fruit (with seeds in wild plants, without them in commercial cultivars). It tolerates heavier soils than other banana trees and also some drought. It is called male plantain since it is from where this fruit is extracted (although the one obtained from hybrids with M. acuminate). Its fruit is edible although somewhat insipid and improves a lot when fried. It can also be used to extract fibers, although there are better options. It inhabits Southeast Asia, from India to China, up to 2000m of altitude, which explains its resistance to cold. Depending on the origin it can hold up to about -5ºC. It needs very high temperatures to grow, so although it can tolerate the cold, it needs hot summers. We place her in this group because her bananas only ripen in areas without frost.
A huge mouse
Image – Reddit
The giant banana tree. It is the largest plant of the entire Musaceae family, reaching more than 20m highwith a circumference at the base that can exceed 2m and leaves of about 5m long (counting only the blade and petiole), which gives it the position of the largest acaule plant (remember that the pseudostem is not a real stem , are the leaf sheaths). Bananas are yellowish and of a good size, but they are not edible. A peculiarity of this banana tree is that it does not tolerate heat. He wants temperatures that are always around 20ºC, with an ambient humidity close to 100%. It inhabits forests of New Guinea at a certain altitude.
Cold resistant banana trees
These plants generally They also come from the intertropical zone, but they grow at high altitudes so they tolerate low temperatures. Something to keep in mind is that with any frost the leaves will dry out, and if strong frosts are expected, the pseudostem must be protected or it will freeze to the ground. This is a must if you want to get a large plant or watch it bloom. Without this protection, all these species will freeze to the ground below about -5ºC, having to re-sprout from the rhizome, so it will be rare for you to get plants over 1m tall. Very few produce edible bananas.
To protect them, it is as simple as surrounding the pseudostem with a good layer of straw and surrounding it with thermal geotextile mesh, putting a plastic roof on it. If too cold is not expected, surrounding them with several layers of thermal geotextile mesh is sufficient.
balbisian muse ‘atia black’
Image – seedman
A purely ornamental cultivar of balbisian muse with the black pseudostem. It is somewhat more resistant to cold than the species (usually lasts up to -5ºC no problem). Bananas are probably ediblebut as it is usually grown in areas with cool winters they are not usually seen. In any case, it is an ornamental plant, so even if the fruit is edible, it will not be of quality. Like the species, it needs a lot of heat to grow, so it is not recommended for cool climates.
muse basjoo
The most cold resistant banana treewhich in theory can last up to about -20ºC. Its natural range is southern China, mainly Sichuan province, although it is most commonly seen in Japan, where it is grown for fiber extraction (which gives it its common name, Japanese fiber banana tree). Its resistance to cold added to the fact that it does not need much heat to grow makes it the most cultivated in climates with frost.. It is a medium or small plant, which does not usually exceed 3m in height and is light green in color. Its pseudostem is usually surrounded by remains of dry leaves. Its fruit, greenish in color, is not edible. Its leaves are rather thin with short petioles.
musa sikkimensis
Similar to muse basjoo but with a more tropical air. It has many cultivars with different resistance to cold, from -5ºC to about -15ºC. Its most interesting cultivars are those with completely or partially red leaves, such as ‘red tiger. They are medium-sized plants that usually do not exceed 5m high, with fairly wide leaves compared to the rest of this groupwhich gives them their tropical look. They are dark green with more or less marked reddish tones. Its pseudostem is usually covered with dry leaves. It is not recommended for cool climates since they need a lot of heat to grow. Bananas always remain greenish and are not edible. Native to northwestern India and the lower Himalayas (up to about 2000 meters above sea level).
Muse velutina
A very small banana tree that rarely grows taller than five feet. Withstands temperatures close to -10ºC. Appearance similar to cane indicates but with more scattered leaves and pinkish pseudostem. The fruits are pink and edible, but very small (about the size of a big toe)full of seeds and somewhat tasteless. It is a very interesting species since the fruit ripens very quickly, so bananas can be harvested even in cool summer climates, as well as being very showy. Another unique feature of this banana tree is that it blooms even after it has frozen to the ground.
the muse of the nagens
A recently discovered banana tree that has only been in cultivation for a very short time. Medium to large in size, it can reach up to about 10m in heightwith a very fine pseudostem. It appears to be almost as tough as muse basjoobut it is not yet known for sure. What is known is that he recovers from the cold more quickly than musa sikkimensis. It inhabits jungles from the eastern Himalayas to western Yunnan (China). They have the pseudostem of a dark color, from reddish to purple, almost black. They are completely covered by a white wax, which added to the dark pseudostem gives them a really striking appearance. The leaves are very long, attached to the pseudostem by a very fine petiole. Their bananas are inedible and stay green forever, but the wax coating makes them appear bluish.
Muse ‘Helen’s hybrid’
Image – plantdelights
It is not particularly resistant to cold (up to about -5ºCthe pseudostem down to about -3ºC), but it deserves a mention for having completely edible and tasty fruits, with seedsbut not very annoying. It is a hybrid of musa sikkimensis y Musa ‘Chini-champa’. It has leaves similar to those of musa sikkimensisbut covered with wax and reddish only on the underside, and with a slightly pinkish pseudostem. For a little more information about this species we have this little article dedicated to her.
There are many other species and cultivars of banana trees, both tropical and cold hardy, but these are the easiest to find and most interesting. I invite you to try to grow any of these plants regardless of where you live, and I hope this article can serve as a guide to decide the species.
10 types of banana trees – Some species of the genus Musa
