Matt Turner

There is a four-way confusion here between the species Musa basjoo, Musa itinerans, Musa formosana and Musa balbisiana.

David Constantine's site is usually very reliable, but he is obviously wrong to suggest that Musa formosana is similar to Musa basjoo. They are very different plants, not least being the huge difference in seed size and shape. I don't think M. basjoo's natural range extends anywhere near Taiwan either.

Musa formosana is however apparently very closely related to Musa itinerans, so much so that Hakkinen considers it to be the same species. I think he has given the name Musa itinerans var. itinerans to the Taiwanese plant. Others disagree and think Musa formosana should still stand as a separate, though closely related, species.

The final confusion comes from Musa balbisiana seed once being inadvertently sold as M. formosana seed. These plants arguably look similar (don't all bananas?), and both are found in Taiwan, but the difference in seed again makes differentiation conclusive.

Summary: Musa basjoo var. formosana is clearly an erroneous name, and Musa basjoo is most definitely not the same as Musa formosana. Musa balbisiana is also definitely not the same as Musa formosana (or M.basjoo, with which it too has been confused!). Whether Musa formosana is a distinct species, or whether it is a form of Musa itinerans, and if so whether it should really have a name such as Musa itinerans var. formosana rather than var. itinerans are matters still worth arguing about.