Musaceae
	Genera : 2 Species: 40   Links to Genus Directory of Images: Musa x paradisiaca

Distribution: In the subtropical regions of the Old World and introduced to the tropical regions of the New World.

Economic Uses: The family is the source of the cultivated banana, which supports some West Indian and Caribbean economies, as well as the plantain, which is grown as a food source throughout the tropics. A hemp-like fiber can be obtained from the stems of some species.

Defining Features of Interest: The family is arborescent and gains its height from an overlapping of the leaf bases or petioles. This is termed a 'pseudostem' and is not 'wood'. The plants are perennial and can regrow after cutting from a massive corm. The stems also contain a milky juice.

Fossil Evidence: No known fossil record.

Defining Morphology

Floral Features : Zygomorphic and unisexual/monoecious. Inflorescence a panicle-like cyme subtended by one to many spathes(bracts). Female flowers borne above male flowers. Sometimes with an hypanthium present. Epigynous.The axis of the inflorescence grows up through the pseudostem from the corm at the base.

Fruit and Seed Features: Fruit a long, modified berry with a thick exocarp. Seeds with endosperm present. Placentation is axile.

Vegetative Features : Habit is as an arborescent, perennial herb. Leaves are simple, entire and alternate. Leaves may have torn margins that give the appearance of being pinnately compound. Petioles are long with sheathing at the base.