Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-07-14
THE BANANA.
THE EARLIER MENTION OF THIS
WONDERFUL PLANT.

Its Description and Something Con-
corning Varieties aud Man
ner of Cultivation.
Written tor the RECORD, UNION by S Il. Gerrish. I
The banana or plantain lHusa sdpien-
tula and lIusa paradisiaea of Linnaus Musa
sapientum of Brown was thought to be a
native of Asia only, and carried into
America by Europeans, until Humboldt
expressed his doubt as to its being only
of Asiatic origin. He quotes many old
authors to prove that the plantain was
cultivated in America before the time of
Columbus. Brown, in the year 1918
{" Plants Of the Congo" page 81, says that
there is no difference in the bananas of
America and Asia that would prevent US
from CHASING them as of the same species.
The Greeks, Romans and Arabians men
tion it as a wonderful fruit tree, Pliny
says the Greeks If Alexander's army saw
it growing in India. Sages sat in its
shade, and from this the botanical name
SaptentuBa Musd from Arabic mduz. Plu-
mier says it was called thus for Antonius
Musa, the freedman of Augustus. Can
dale states that "the specific name Para
disiacd comes from the ridiculous hyothe-
sis, which made the banana figure in the
story of Eve and of Paradise. 1t is a Gu
rious fact that the Hebrews and the an
cient Egyptians did not know this Indian
plant"
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT.
Root, perennial roundish solid watery
bulb, dusky on the outside, white within,
with few thick fibers; stem biennial
sometimes longer lived - from five to
twenty feet in hight, upright, very straight,
quite simple thick, round, smooth, fun
gous, watery, lamellated the lamellas con-
voluted, each ending in long channelIed,
embracing petioles, intricate at the base,
seams oblong, blunt, quite entire, from
three to ten feet in length, and less than
two feet in width, having many transverse
streaks or grooves, smooth, bright green,
readily divisible at the grooves; flowers
terminating, whitish, in one very large ra
GENE or bunch, most commonly reflex,
thick, round, compound; raeemelets alter
nate, sessile, with the flowers extended in
breadth in double row. general calyx
none; partial of each racemete spathe,
which is subacute, concave, grooved, purp-
lish, opening successively, deciduous !;
proper perianth none; petals two; outer
erect, blunt, five toothed and reflex at the
end; inner boat-shaped, quite entire,
shorter, reflex at the base. In the fertile
flower fine flaments, which are owl
shaped, shorter than the erect petal, fit
ting on the receptacle of these one or two
sometimes all, are antheriferous; anthers
linear, lateral; germ oblong, inferior
bluntly three-cornered; style linear, thick,
longer than the stamens; stigma headed
grooved at the top; berry oblong, some
what angular, fieshy, sweet, eatable, three
celled, containing many black nesting
seeds. The barren flower has also five
tilaments, of which frequently all open,
some only, sometimes none, are antherif-
erous. The carolla is like that of the fer
tile fower-style stigma, and germ small
and abortive. The fertile flowers always
occupy the lower and the barren ones the
upper part of the spathes, except the up
permost and outmost, which rot within
the spathes." s."-Ldureiro.
Though the plantain and banana are
generally considered as different, Laureiro,
Foster and Guertner cannot find any spe-
cific difference, and they agree that Lin
naus' classification of two species is insult
ticient. Guertner united them under the
character of a one-celled berried fruit
From the discussions of eminent botanists
on this subject, we can deduce that a large
banana is plantain, and small plantain
is called banana. The name of plantain
is derived from the Spanish name plafdao,
by which name this plant is always known
IN Spanish countries, the name banana
never being used. 1t forms a spurious
kind of stem, five to thirty feet in hight:
by the sheathing bases of the leaves the
blades OF the leaves on the largest varie-
ties measuring over ten feet long and more
than two feet wide. The stem sending out
these large leaves from the center of the
top until 1t arrives at maturity, when
smaller leaf appearing, indicates that it
Will fruit. The fruit stem then sends out
a large purple bud shaped like an ear of
corn in its husk. Tlees leaves open, dis
closing eight small green plantains with
yellow blossom ON the end. This leaf
loosens and drops of, and another sue
ceeds, until the whole bunch is formed.
often weighing one hundred pounds. When
the bunch is formed, in some varieties. a
large purple blossom, with yellow stamens.
forms at the end of the fruit stem. Where
fruit is desired this is not allowed to re-
main, as it retards the fruit The plants
mission is ended when it has ripened its
fruit. 1t then withers and dies but there
will start from the old root many young
ones for succession. The husks or leaves
on the bud has always been considered in
India as an emblem of fruitfulness, and is
represented on the India shawls, being in
correctly called pine or "palm leaf" by
northern nations who had no knowledge
of the plantain. In India it is named va
lei. The fruit in its unripe state contains
starch, which forms sugar when fully ripe.
The green fruit is dried in the sun, and
very nutritious -four is made. The ripe
fruit contains-Nitrogenou matter, 1920
sugar, 1867; fatty matter, 0.632; cellu-
lose, 020O; saline matter, 0.791; water,
73.900. A pound of plantains contain
more nutriment than three pounds of
meat, or as many pounds of potatoes, and
makes bread equal to wheat. An acre of
ground, said Humboldt, planted with ba-
nanas will return as much food as thirty
three acres of wheat, or hundred acres of
potatoes.
VARIETIES.
There are as many varieties as of apples
or oranges. The fruit is from the size of a
finger to twenty-five inches long. The va
rieties planted here have been the Florida
Hage," "Narse" or "Orlnaka," called
by Spaniards Ell Babo," the fool. 1t is
splendid looking plant, but produces infe-
rior fruit. This variety has been planted
largely all over the State. As it will
stand anything it is a great success as an
ornament. Other varieties have been
tried, but from causes have failed to sue
ceed well. The Cavendishii, q splendid
variety, growing only six feet high, bears
larger number than most varieties and
natures early, but it would not do. The
Daca was too tender. The Musa Rosaeea,
the banana which produces the manila
ha,,,v 1nao ,uall n rraof h,,t