Musa textilis Née
Musaceae (banana family)
Location: Sugar, fiber and root crops
Origin: Southeast Asia and Polynesia
Biophysical Requirements: Tropical plant requires moist soil with good drainage. Requires 9 to 12 months from planting corm to harvest. Main corm dies after harvest but smaller corms are produced that can be planted for new crop.
Food Uses: A tasty fruit, banana is grown in the humid tropics. A similar plant produces a starchy nonsweet fruit, plantain, which is a very important staple food in tropical areas such as Uganda. Another banana species Musa textilis abaca, yields fibers from the leaf sheaths.