Classification of Bananas

Dicots vs Monocots

Almost all flowering plants fall into two categories, monocots or dicots.  Bananas are large, perennial, monocotyledonous herbs which grow 2–9 m (6.6–30 ft) in height. They also fall under the classification of a C3 plant. Some key differences are listed in the comparison chart below.





fact: There are about 65,000 species of monocots. Some examples include grains, sugarcane, banana, palm, rice, corn and onions. There are about 250,000 species of dicots. Examples include daisies, mint, pea, and mango.


Species and family

Bananas and Plantains are two important members of the Musaceae family. According to encyclopedia Britannica, "the banana family of plants (order Zingiberales), consisting of 2 genera, Musa and Ensete, with about 50 species native to Africa, Asia, and Australia. The common banana (M. sapientum) is a subspecies of the plantain (M. paradisiaca). Both are important food plants". 

Genetics

Musa species are grouped according to “ploidy,” the numberof chromosome sets they contain, and the relative proportion of Musa acuminata (A) and Musa balbisiana (B) in their genome. Most familiar, seedless, cultivated varieties (cultivars) of banana are triploid hybrids (AAA, AAB, ABB). the AAA cultivar is the Cavendish banana as well as the Bike Mike banana. The Cavendish banana is the dwarf plant of the Big Mike plant that survived the strain of the Panama disease that wiped out the Big Mike banana variety.