Musa sikkimensis
Musa sikkimensis, also called Darjeeling banana, is a species of the genus Musa. It is one of the highest altitude banana species[2] and is found in Bhutan and India.
| Musa sikkimensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Musa sikkimensis in the Quarryhill Botanical Garden | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Zingiberales |
| Family: | Musaceae |
| Genus: | Musa |
| Section: | Musa sect. Musa |
| Species: | M. sikkimensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Musa sikkimensis Kurz (1877)[1] | |
Description
The 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]
References
- Musa sikkimensis (1877) Kurz, W.S. Journal of the Agricultural & Horticultural Society of India Part 1. 5 (3):164
- 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.