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Old 10-08-2006, 05:18 PM   #9 (permalink)
Gabe15
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Default Re: Scientific names

Joe,
it is not always several species involved, there are many banana cultivars that are derived from a single species as well. I think there is some confusion when the term "complex hybrids" is mentioned, its not the combination of different species and cultivars that make up other cultivars. Orginally, there were only a few edible bananas that came about in a few different ways, but in all the cases they were random mutations, not all of them continued to hybridise to make different cultivars.

Nearly all banana cultivars are just mutants from a few orginal hybrids, they are mutated clones that not nessacerily had to hybridise with something else, what Im really trying to say is that there arent really "parent cultivars" that make up other cultivars. Its not like a Musa 'X' hybridized with Musa 'Y' to get Musa 'Z'. Really its more of a Musa 'X' mutated into Musa 'Y' and 'Z' if that makes sense.

The parents species are infact known (not to be confused with parent cultivars), thats why we have the genetic naming system, it tells what the orginal parents are, and how they mutated. All that needed to happen was one mistake in cell division of a wild diploid Musa acuminata to form a wild triploid Musa acuminata, these plants would have died in nature to do the fact they cannot produce seed, but humans found these plants and began to cultivate them and since then have chosen mutations for further cultivation.

Edible bananas cannot be given latin binomials, or any variation of those. They are not species, they do not fit into that naming system, they are not even straight hybrids that could be given latin hybrid names, they are in some cases derived from different species, but in all cases mutants.

Wim,
There is a way decode the genetic naming system and make it more valuable to someone who does not understand it so well. Here are some of the most common groups and what they generally (but not always) mean for the fruit of the plant.

AA- small, sweet, dessert bananas
AAA- sweet, dessert bananas
AAB- semi-sweet or sweet, variable bananas
ABB- starchier cooking bananas

There are many different genetic groups but most of them many of us will never be able to grow.
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