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Musa uranoscopus

Loureiro

Red-flowering banana, Scarlet banana

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Gabe Sachter-Smith, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-sa

(c) Nuno Veríssimo P., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Gabe Sachter-Smith, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Description

A banana plant with a glossy reddish-green false stem. It grows about 1 m tall. The leaves are glossy and oval. Often they are red at the edges. They are arranged in spirals. The flower heads are erect. The bracts are pink to red. The fruit are oblong and reddish purple. They ripen orange-yellow.

Edible Uses

The fruit is edible.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in rich, well-drained soils in full sun. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Where It Grows

Asia, Australia, China*, Hawaii, Indochina, Indonesia, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia*, USA,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown by dividing the clump.

Synonyms

Musa coccinea H.C. Andrews

Also Known As

Pisang skarlet

References (5)

  • Coronel, R.E., 1982, Fruit Collections in the Philippines. IBPGR Newsletter p 10
  • Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 905
  • Fl. cochinch. 2:645. 1790
  • Staples, G.W. and Herbst, D.R., 2005, A tropical Garden Flora. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. p 710
  • Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 1125

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