| Classification |
| Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order Type: Basal Angiosperms-Monocots
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Musaceae
Family Common Name: Banana Family
Genera: Musa |
Defining Features: The family
is arborescent and gains its height from an overlapping of the leafbases
or petioles. This is termed a "pseudostem" and is not "wood".
The plants are perennial and can rejuvenate after cutting from a massive
corm. The stems also contain a milky juice.
Defining Morphology: Floral
Features: Zygomorphic and unisexual or bisexual. Inflorescence a panicle-like
cyme subtended by one to many spathes (bracts). Female flowers borne above
male flowers. Sometimes hypanthium is present. The axis of the inflorescence
grows up through the pseudostem from the corm at the base. Ovaries are
inferior with axile placentation. Fruit and Seed Features: Monocotyledon.
Fruit a long, modified berry with a thick exocarp. Seeds have endosperm.
Vegetative Features: Habit as an arborescent, cormous or rhizomatous perennial
herbs. Leaves are simple, entire and alternate. Leaf blades are large,
rolled in a bud with pinnately veined. Leaves may have torn margins that
give the appearance of being pinnately compound. Petioles are long with
sheathing at the base.
Distribution: In the subtropical
regions of the Old World and introduced to the tropical regions of the
New World.
Economic Use: The family is
the source of the cultivated banana, which supports some West Indian and
Caribbean economies, as well as the plantain, which is grown as a food
source throughout the tropics. A hemp-like fiber can be obtained from the
stems of some species.
Number of Genera Globally:
2
Number of Species Globally: 35
