Musa (genus)

Musa is one of two or three genera in the family Musaceae; it includes bananas and plantains. Around 70 species of Musa are known, with a broad variety of uses.

This article is about the botanical genus. For cultivated plants, see Banana.

Musa
Banana plants, Kanaha Beach, Maui
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Zingiberales
Family:	Musaceae
Genus:	Musa L.[1]
Species
Around 70, see text.

Many bananas and plantains grow as high as trees, but they are not woody. Their apparent "stem" is made up of the bases of the huge leaf stalks. For this reason, they are technically gigantic herbs.

Musa species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the giant leopard moth and other Hypercompe species, including H. albescens (only recorded on Musa), H. eridanus, and H. icasia.

References

1. GRIN (2009-02-19). "Genus: Musa L." Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2011-02-06.