Latundan banana

Musa 'Silk'
Apple bananas
Details
Hybrid parentage	Musa acuminata × Musa balbisiana
Cultivar group	AAB Group (Pome Group)
Cultivar	'Silk'
Origin	Philippines

Latundan bananas (also called Tundan, Silk bananas, Pisang raja sereh, Manzana bananas or Apple bananas), are triploid hybrid banana cultivars from the Philippines. It is one of the most common banana cultivars in the Philippines, along with the Lacatan and Saba bananas.^[1]

Description

Latundan banana plants typically reach a height of 10 to 13 feet. They require full or partial sun exposure. The flowers are yellow, purple, or ivory in color. The fruits are round-tipped with thin yellow skin that splits once fully ripe. They are smaller than the Lacatan cultivar and the commercially dominant Cavendish bananas.^[2][3] They have a slightly acidic, apple-like flavor.^[4]

Taxonomy

In older classifications, the Latundan cultivar was once the plant referred to as Musa sapientum. It has since been discovered that Musa sapientum is actually a hybrid cultivar of the wild seeded bananas Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata and not a species.^[5]

The Latundan banana is a triploid (AAB) hybrid.^[6]

Its full name is Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana (AAB Group) 'Silk'.

Uses

Latundan bananas are popular dessert bananas. They are also cultivated as ornamental plants.

Diseases

• Panama disease

See also

• Banana
• Banana Cultivar Groups
• Musa
• Musa acuminata
• Musa balbisiana
• Plantain

References

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