ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the morphology of the musa plant and discusses the potential benefits of morphological diversity. The East African Highland bananas, also considered as the Lujugira-Mutika subgroup, display a very variable pseudostem color, the intensity of which varies with environmental conditions. Thus, in the Lujugira-Mutika subgroup, the pseudostem and leaf petioles tend to get darker as altitude increases. Leaf pigmentation and posture may affect photosynthetic efficiency and transpiration rates as described by Brun and Turner, but there are surprisingly not many recent studies relating leaf morphology to photosynthetic efficiency or transpiration of the existing cultivars. Continued elongation of the main stalk of the inflorescence causes the bunch to hang over, the bracts open and fall, disclosing the female flower clusters or hands. The female flowers undergo further development without being pollinated or fertilized. A comprehensive study of the root system of a wider gene pool is required to construct an ideotype target for genetic improvement of plantains and bananas.
