Rhino Horn bananas, also called Rhino Horn plantains or African Rhino Horn, are

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

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 from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It produces strongly curved and elongated edible bananas which can grow to a length of two feet, the longest fruits among

Taxonomy

The Rhino Horn banana is a triploid ( AAB Group, commonly known as Horn plantains) hybrid of the seeded banana ''

Musa balbisiana ''Musa balbisiana'', also known simply as plantain, is a wild-type species of banana. It is one of the ancestors of modern cultivated bananas, along with ''Musa acuminata''. Description It grows lush leaves in clumps with a more upright habit th ...

'' and ''

Musa acuminata ''Musa acuminata'' is a species of banana native to South Asia, Southern Asia, its range comprising the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Many of the modern edible dessert bananas are from this species, although some are hybrids with ''Mus ...

''. Its official designation is ''Musa acuminata'' × ''balbisiana'' (AAB Group) 'African Rhino Horn'.

Description

Rhino Horn banana plants can grow to a height of 12 to 20 feet. The

pseudostem A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...

and leaves are dappled red. Rhino Horn bananas have the longest fruits among

banana cultivars The following is a list of banana cultivars and the groups into which they are classified. Almost all modern cultivated varieties (cultivars) of edible bananas and plantains are hybrids and polyploids of two wild, seeded banana species, ''Musa ...

, reaching up to 2 feet in length,Musa 'African Rhino Horn'
/ref> though they normally only reach lengths of 12 to 14 inches. They produce two to four hands per bunch.
/ref>

Uses

Fruits of the Rhino Horn bananas can be eaten raw or cooked. They are also cultivated as ornamental plants for their attractive coloration.

Pests and diseases

Common pests

*Borers ('' Cosmopolites sordidus'') *

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

s *Root Nematodes (''

Radopholus similis ''Radopholus similis'' is a species of nematode known commonly as the burrowing nematode. It is a parasite of plants, and it is a pest of many agricultural crops. It is an especially important pest of bananas and citrus, and it can be found o ...

'')

Common diseases

Panama disease Panama disease (or Fusarium wilt) is a plant disease that infects banana plants (''Musa'' spp.). It is a wilting disease caused by the fungus ''Fusarium oxysporum'' f. sp. ''cubense'' (Foc). The pathogen is resistant to fungicides and its cont ...

(''Fusarium oxysporum'' f.sp. ''cubense'') * Black Sigatoka (''Mycosphaerella fijiensis'')

References

{{Banana Banana cultivars