True plantains are a group of
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s of the genus ''
Musa'' (
bananas and plantains) placed in the African Plantain subgroup of the
AAB chromosome group.
Although "AAB" and "true plantain" are often used interchangeably, plantains are 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 a group of banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking. They are not eaten raw and are generally starchy. Many cooking bananas are referred to as plantains or 'green bananas ...
), 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), 'Tanduk', (Indonesia), 'Pisang Tandok' (Malaysia)
In the 1990s, the
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
published two guides to help scientists and farmers identify plantains in
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
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 and Growth of Plantain and Banana" (1997, page 10) contains figures of the plantain
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
types.
See also
*
References
Banana cultivars
.
Musaceae
Hybrid plants
Austronesian agriculture
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