Kingdom Plantae Family Musaceae Scientific name Musa coccinea Rank Species | Order Zingiberales Genus Musa Higher classification Banana | |
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Similar Banana, Musa ornata, Musa velutina, Heliconia wagneriana, Dombeya rotundifolia | ||
Musa coccinea, commonly known as scarlet banana or red-flowering banana, is a bat-pollinated plant in the banana and plantain family native to tropical China (in Guangdong, Guangxi, and southeastern Yunnan) and Vietnam. It is placed in section Callimusa (now including the former section Australimusa), having a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.
The flower cluster is more rounded than in the related species M. beccarii. It is made up of erect spirals of red bracts which enclose tubular yellow flowers. The fruits are orange, only about 2 cm (0.8 in) long, and contain seeds. The species is cultivated for its ornamental value, being grown, for example, along with heliconias in commercial farms in Hawaii.
M. coccinea is a known host in the New World of the red palm mite (Raoiella indica).
Taxonomy
Musa coccinea was described by Andrews in 1799. M. uranoscopos Lour. (an illegitimate name) is often incorrectly given as a synonym. Loureiro's 1790 account is confused. He refers to an illustration in Rumphius' 1747 Herbarium Amboinense, hence this is the type of his name. However, this illustration had previously been used in Linnaeus' description of M. troglodytarum, so M. uranoscopos Lour. is a superfluous name for M. troglodytarum. Loureiro's description is of M. coccinea; however the type rather than the description determines the synonymity, so M. uranoscopos Lour. is not a synonym of M. coccinea.
