Blood banana
{{Short description|Variety of fruit}}
{{Infraspeciesbox
|name = Blood banana
|image = Musa acuminata Syn zebrina HabitusLeaves BotGardBln0906.jpg
|image_caption = Typical young specimen
|image2 =
|image2_caption =
|genus = Musa
|species = acuminata
|varietas = zebrina
|authority = (Van Houtte ex Planch.) Nasution
|synonyms =
- Musa acuminata var. zebrina
(Van Houtte ex Planch.) Nasution - Musa rojo
hort. - Musa sumatrana
Becc. - Musa sumatrana
Becc. ex André - Musa sumatrana 'Rubra'
hort. - Musa zebrina
Van Houtte ex Planchon - Musa zebrina
(Van Houtte) Backer - Musa zebrina 'Rojo'
hort.
}}
The blood banana (Musa acuminata var. zebrina), is a variety of the wild banana Musa acuminata native to Sumatra, Indonesia. The blood banana is an ornamental plant, named for the dark red patches on its leaves, though its small-seeded fruits are also edible. It grows 6' to 8' tall in the wild, but is well-adapted to container growing and can be maintained at 3' to 5'. It grows best in full or partial sun and is hardy in zones 9 - 11.{{cite web|url=https://www.agristarts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/59/typeID/37/index.htm|title=Musa sumatrana 'Zebrina' Rojo Banana from AgriStarts|author=|date=|website=www.agristarts.com|accessdate=22 June 2019}}
Taxonomy and nomenclature
The blood banana is a variety of the wild banana species Musa acuminata, one of the two ancestors of modern edible bananas. It was once classified as separate species under the now invalid names (synonyms) Musa zebrina and Musa sumatrana.{{GRIN | name =Musa acuminata Colla var. zebrina (Van Houtte ex Planch.) Nasution | id = 458145 | accessdate = June 28, 2011}} It was also sometimes incorrectly classified as a cultivar.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} The variety is not accepted by some sources, including the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, which regards it as part of the nominate subspecies of Musa acuminata, M. acuminata subsp. acuminata.{{WCSP |371385 |Musa acuminata var. zebrina |mode=cs1|accessdate=2018-12-15 }}
The blood banana is also known as the red banana tree, though it should not be confused with the red banana cultivar. Other common names in English include seeded red banana, Sumatra ornamental banana, and maroon-variegated banana plant. They are also known as {{lang|es|banano rojo}} in Spanish, {{lang|ja|ゼブリナバナナ}} ({{Transliteration|ja|zeburina banana}}) in Japanese, {{lang|th|กล้วยมะนี}} ({{Transliteration|th|kluai ma ni}}) in Thai, and {{Lang|vi|chuối kiểng}} in Vietnamese.{{cite web|url=http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Musa.html|title=Sorting Musa names |author=Michel H. Porcher|date=March 22, 2011|publisher=The University of Melbourne|accessdate=June 28, 2011}}
Description
Blood bananas are characterized by dark red patches of variable sizes on their dark green leaves. Their pseudostems are characteristically very slender. They bear small, slender fruits filled with grape-like seeds.{{cite journal|author1=Randy C. Ploetz |author2=Angela Kay Kepler |author3=Jeff Daniells |author4=Scot C. Nelson |name-list-style=amp|year=2007|title=Banana and plantain — an overview with emphasis on the Pacific island cultivars|journal=Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry|url=http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Banana-plantain-overview.pdf|accessdate= June 5, 2011}}
Distribution
Blood bananas are native to Java, Indonesia. They are notable for being one of the earliest banana subspecies to be spread by humans out of Southeast Asia. Introduced westward to Africa, they became the ancestors for the genetically distinct and commercially important East African Highland bananas (Mutika/Lujugira subgroup of the AAA group).
It is probably the only seeded banana to ever be introduced into Hawaii before European contact. It is known as the {{lang|haw|mai{{okina}}a {{okina}}oa}} in Hawaiian, though the name is also applied to the species Musa balbisiana, which was introduced later on.
Gallery
Image:Musa sumatrana2.jpg|Essentially unpatterned young plant at Longwood Gardens
Image:Musa sumatrana (Red Banana Tree).jpg|Closeup of a strongly patterned leaf
image:Musa sumatrana1.jpg|Inflorescence