Plantain

From Bananas Wiki

Contents 1 Species Name 1.1 Synonyms 2 Pictures 3 Description 3.1 Origin 3.2 Usage 4 Flowering 5 Cultivation 5.1 Known Afflictions 6 Research Notes 6.1 Members Growing This Banana 7 External

Species Name

N/A

Synonyms

• Plantain
• Cooking Banana
• Beer Banana
• Musa x Paradisiaca

Pictures

Description

The world's most popular cooking banana.

See:

https://www.promusa.org/Plantain+subgroup

https://www.promusa.org/Pacific+plantain

From Wikipedia - "True" plantains are a group of cultivars of the genus Musa placed in the African Plantain subgroup of the AAB chromosome group.[1] Although "AAB" and "true plantain" are often used interchangeably, plantains are just the most popular varieties among the AABs.[1] The term "plantain" can refer to all the banana cultivars which are normally eaten after cooking, rather than raw (see cooking banana), or it can refer to members of other subgroups of Musa cultivars, such as the Pacific plantains,[2] although in Africa there is little to no distinction made between the two, as both are commonly cooked.[3] True plantains are divided into four groups based on their bunch type: French, French Horn, False Horn, and Horn plantains.[4]

Each bunch type has a variety of cultivars associated with it:[4]

   French cultivars: 'Obino l'Ewai' (Nigeria), 'Nendran' (India), 'Dominico' (Colombia)
   French Horn cultivars: 'Batard' (Cameroon), 'Mbang Okon' (Nigeria)
   False Horn cultivars: 'Agbagba' and 'Orishele' (Nigeria), 'Dominico-Harton' (Colombia)
   Horn cultivars: 'Ishitim' (Nigeria), 'Pisang Tandok' (Malaysia)

In the 1990s, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture published two guides to help scientists and farmers identify plantains in West Africa and support their cultivation.

   The IITA Reference Guide for "Plantain cultivation under West African Conditions" (1990, page 14)[5] contains photos of different plantain types.[5]
   IITA's Research Guide 66 "Morphology and Growth of Plantain and Banana" (1997, page 10) contains figures of the plantain inflorescence types.[6]

From: Banana and plantain—an overview with emphasis on Pacific island cultivars Musaceae (banana family) Randy C. Ploetz, Angela Kay Kepler, Jeff Daniells, and Scot C. Nelson http://agroforestry.net/images/pdfs/Banana-plantain-overview.pdf

Plantain subgroup Synonym: M. discolor Horan.

This diverse group of “true” plantains is not to be confused with Pacific plantains or with other cooking bananas with an ABB genome. Plantain fruit are often longer and far more pointed. They comprise 21% of annual Musa production worldwide, assuming their greatest dietary importance in West Africa and Latin America. In these regions they are a major source of dietary carbohydrates.

Four subsets of cultivars are recognized based on the size and shape of the bunch and fruit. Within the different sets are numerous cultivars. Members of the plantain subgroup are characterized by long, curved, very starchy bananas. Some particularly large horn plantains are the size and shape of bull horns, and are named thus in different languages, e.g., ‘Kerepiha/Kerepifa’ or “beef ’s horn” (Marquesas) and ‘Tara puatoro’ or “bull’s horn”.

French plantains are generally differentiated from Horn plantains by their retention of bud bracts on the stalk (rachis) below the fruit, whereas Horn plantains develop a small or nonexistent bud (putting all their energy into the huge fruit). In other words, French plantains have a very “messy” rachis and big bud below the fruit, whereas the Horn plantains have a “clean” rachis, with little or no bud on the end. Intermediate inflorescence characteristics are found in the French Horn and False Horn subsets of cultivars. Below are listed some prominent members in each.

'French’ Synonym: M. paradisiaca L., M. paradisiaca L. var. viridis De Wild., M. purpureo-tomentosa De Wild., M. × paradisiaca auct. non L.

Many ill-defined forms of French plantain exist, some overlapping with the next two clonal clusters: ‘Green French’,‘Pink French’, ‘Wine’, ‘Black French’, ‘Tiger’, and ‘Giant’.

Some common cultivars: ‘Obino l’Ewai’ (Nigeria); ‘Njock Kon’, ‘Bobby tannap’ (Cameroon); ‘Nendran’ (India); ‘Dominico’ (Colombia); ‘tarapuakanio’ (Cook Is.). French plantains are known only in India, Africa, Egypt, and the Americas. ‘French Horn’ Some common cultivars: ‘mbang Okon’ (Nigeria); and ‘3 Vert’ (Cameroon)

‘False Horn’ Synonyms: M. decrescens de Briey Some common cultivars: ‘Agbagba’ and ‘Orishele’ (Nigeria); ‘Dominico-Hartón’ (Colombia); ‘Cuerno’ (Central America); ‘Barragante’ (Ecuador) ‘Batard’

‘Horn’ Synonyms: M. corniculata Rumphias, M. corniculata Lour., M. emasculata de Briey ex De Wild., M. protractorachis De Wild. Some common cultivars: ‘Ishitim’ (Nigeria); ‘Pisang tandok’ (Malaysia)

Origin

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Usage

Flowering

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Cultivation

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Known Afflictions

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Panama

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Research Notes

• Links to useful discussion threads in the forum:

• Typical Price Range -

Members Growing This Banana

External

• Links

  (Links to other useful pages on the web that mention this banana. Example: International Banana Society)

• Sources