ABSTRACT
The search for the origins of edible bananas probably started soon after European explorers brought home stories about the wonderful fruit they had come across in Africa. The wide variety in morphology of the banana plant and fruit initially created a profusion of names among taxonomists (Häkkinen and Väre 2008). However, since seeded banana species only occur in South and Southeast Asia and Oceania, the origin of the edible ‘Musa sapientium’ and ‘Musa paradisiaca’ had to be sought there. Currently about 40 seeded species in the genus Musa have been recognised. It gradually became clear that most edible banana varieties had closest affinities with the seeded species Musa acuminata Colla and Musa balbisiana Colla (Simmonds 1962). The Fe’i bananas cultivated by some Pacific islanders derive from Musa section ‘Callimusa’ (formerly ‘Australimusa’) species. The knowledge of these bananas is far too incomplete to even attempt to reconstruct a history of their domestication, and thus they will not be considered further here.
