"True" plantains are a group of
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
s of the genus ''
Musa
Musa may refer to:
Places
* Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia
* Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon
* Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province
* Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran
*Musa, Kerman, Iran
* Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaija ...
'' (
bananas and plantains) placed in the African Plantain subgroup of the
AAB chromsome group.
Although "AAB" and "true plantain" are often used interchangeably, plantains are just the most popular varieties among the AABs.
The term "plantain" can refer to all the banana cultivars which are normally eaten after cooking, rather than raw (see
cooking banana
Cooking bananas are banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking. They may be eaten ripe or unripe and are generally starchy. Many cooking bananas are referred to as plantains (/ˈplæntɪn/, /plænˈte� ...
), or it can refer to members of other subgroups of ''Musa'' cultivars, such as the Pacific plantains,
although in Africa there is little to no distinction made between the two, as both are commonly cooked. True plantains are divided into four groups based on their bunch type: French, French Horn, False Horn, and Horn plantains.
Each bunch type has a variety of cultivars associated with it:
* 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
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a nonprofit organization that works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture, with the ultimate ...
published two guides to help scientists and farmers identify plantains in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
and support their cultivation.
* The IITA Reference Guide for "Plantain cultivation under West African Conditions" (1990, page 14)
contains photos of different plantain types.
* IITA's Research Guide 66 "
Morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
* Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
* Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
and Growth of Plantain and Banana" (1997, page 10) contains figures of the plantain
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...
types.
See also
*
References
Banana cultivars
.
Musaceae
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