What varieties of banana plants are there? Characteristics and flower differences of the red banana, the velvet banana and the golden lotus banana
How to grow banana plants: some people grow them from seed, so do you know how to grow banana seeds? Do you know which varieties of banana plants there are? Let us first take a look at several varieties of banana plants below! (1.) Red banana (Musa coccinea): also known as the beautiful banana plant and the ornamental banana.
How to grow banana plants: some people grow them from seed, so do you know how to grow banana seeds? Do you know which varieties of banana plants there are? Let us first take a look at several varieties of banana plants below!
(1.) Red banana (Musa coccinea): also known as the beautiful banana plant and the ornamental banana. Native to Vietnam. The plant grows up to 1.5 to 2 m tall, and its leaves are slender and light green. The flowering period is from summer to autumn; the flowers are bright red with slightly yellow bract tips, and are very showy. Besides being grown in gardens and as potted ornamentals, because of its long flower stalks, long flowering period and brightly coloured bracts, it is a first-class material for cut flowers and flower arranging.
(1.) Red banana (Musa coccinea): also known as the beautiful banana plant and the ornamental banana. Native to Vietnam. The plant grows up to 1.5 to 2 m tall, and its leaves are slender and light green. The flowering period is from summer to autumn; the flowers are bright red with slightly yellow bract tips, and are very showy. Besides being grown in gardens and as potted ornamentals, because of its long flower stalks, long flowering period and brightly coloured bracts, it is a first-class material for cut flowers and flower arranging.
(2.) Velvet banana (Musa velutina): native to northern India. Its name velutina comes from the velvety fuzz on the fruit cluster. The plant is short, reaching 1 to 1.5 m. The flower bracts are purplish red, and the male flowers are orange-yellow. When the fruit fingers ripen, their surface is covered with fine hairs, the peel is purplish red, and the fruit shape is short, plump and cute. After ripening, the fruit fingers split open naturally, revealing snow-white flesh containing black seeds. Besides being planted in courtyards, it is suitable as a potted plant for both its flowers and its fruit.
(3.) Golden lotus banana (Musa lasiocarpa / Golden lotus): also known as the thousand-petal lotus. Native to Yunnan, at an altitude of 2500 m, and cold-tolerant. The plant is short (around 1 m) and grows in clumps. The pseudostem is formed by leaf sheaths overlapping layer upon layer, and the leaves are green and banana-like in shape. The bracts are golden yellow and shaped like petals, opening gradually from bottom to top and staying unwithered for a long time, just like a blooming lotus, with a flowering period of up to 250 days. It is a rare variety grown for its flowers.
(4.) Blood banana (Musa acuminata spp zebrina / Bloodieaf / Musa sumatra): native to Indonesia. The plant is tall and slender, similar in appearance to the edible banana, reaching 3 m tall. Its distinguishing features are the large brown spots on the leaves and the bronze colour of the leaf undersides. Besides being planted in courtyards, when grown in pots with growth retardants to control plant height, the leaves become broader and the spots darker, making it a much-loved foliage houseplant.
(5.) Thousand finger banana (Musa chiliocarpa / Pisang seribu / Thousand Finger): native to Malaysia. The plant is tall, resembles the edible banana, and can reach more than 2 to 3 m. Its distinguishing feature is that after flowering the fruit cluster keeps growing until it comes close to the ground. Its fruit fingers are short and thick, and the fruit hands are tightly packed, which is why it is called the thousand finger banana.
