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Gabe15 · 08-17-2005, 02:08 PM

JoeReal,
you have it right at the end with Musa 'Cultivar Name' (Group Genetics). They abandoned trying to give cultivated Musa Linnean binomials awhile ago. The edible bananas are not species, Musa acuminata is a wild species of which some edible bananas are derived from, same with M. balbisiana, but there are also other species involved in some. Musa acuminata also has many subspecies such as zebrina, banksii, malaccensis, microcarpa, siamea just to name a few and are written as Musa acuminata subsp. zebrina for example. These are very different from edible bananas. Musa acuminata 'Novak' is an incorrect name, you will not be able to take a hike through Borneo and find wild 'Super Dwarfs' growing all over, the proper name is Musa 'Novak' or 'Super Dwarf' plus (AAA Group), no species names are needed because they are not species. Also, plantain is a general term for any banana that is too starchy to be eaten raw, not all plantain type bananas are derived purely from balbisiana, most are dervived from both and some dont have any balbisiana genetics.

08-17-2005, 02:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
Gabe15 Moderator Gabe15's Photo Gallery Location: Oahu, Hawaii Find me on the map! Zone: 12 Name: Gabe Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 3,892 BananaBucks : 13,347,894 Feedback: 5 / 100% Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 8,241 Times in 2,200 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 8 Times	Re: M. acuminata sdc JoeReal, you have it right at the end with Musa 'Cultivar Name' (Group Genetics). They abandoned trying to give cultivated Musa Linnean binomials awhile ago. The edible bananas are not species, Musa acuminata is a wild species of which some edible bananas are derived from, same with M. balbisiana, but there are also other species involved in some. Musa acuminata also has many subspecies such as zebrina, banksii, malaccensis, microcarpa, siamea just to name a few and are written as Musa acuminata subsp. zebrina for example. These are very different from edible bananas. Musa acuminata 'Novak' is an incorrect name, you will not be able to take a hike through Borneo and find wild 'Super Dwarfs' growing all over, the proper name is Musa 'Novak' or 'Super Dwarf' plus (AAA Group), no species names are needed because they are not species. Also, plantain is a general term for any banana that is too starchy to be eaten raw, not all plantain type bananas are derived purely from balbisiana, most are dervived from both and some dont have any balbisiana genetics. __________________ Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.