BOTANY Higher Secondary Second Year - Textbooks Online

MONOCOT FAMILY
1.3.7 MUSACEAE - the banana family
Systematic position
Class : Monocotyledonae
Series : Epigynae
Family : Musaceae
General characters
Distribution
Musaceae includes about 6 genera and about 150 species. The
members of this family are widely distributed over tropical regions of
the world. In India it is represented by 2 genera and about 25 species.
Habit
Mostly perennial herbs attaining considerable height, perennating
by means of rhizome (eg. Musa paradisiaca - Banana), rarely trees
(eg. Ravenala madagascariensis - Traveller’s palm) and watery sap is
present.
Root
Generally fibrous adventitious root system is seen.
Stem
In Musa the real stem is underground called rhizome. The
apparent, unbranched, errect and areal pseudostem is formed by the
long, stiff and sheathy leaf bases which are rolled around one another
to form an aerial pseudostem. The central axis that is concealed at the
bottom of the pseudostem is called shaft. At the time of flowering, the
shaft elongates, pierces through the pseudostem and produces an
inflorescence terminally. Musa is a monocorpic perennial, because it
produces flowers and fruits once during its life time. In Ravenala, the
stem is aerial and woody.
Leaf
Simple with a long and strong petiole. The leaf blade is large
and broad with sheathy leaf base. The leaf is extipulate and obtuse.
The pinnately parellel venation extends upto the leaf margin. The
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