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plantain

Musa × paradisiaca L.

Family: Musaceae · Genus: Musa

horse plantain

Placenta II High Mulch biomass 🪓 Coppices after cutting
Photo by David J. Stang · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

AAB Plantain subgroup — cooking banana, tall to emergent (5–7 m), bunch 15–25 kg with few large starchy fingers. Staple food across Northern and Northeastern Brazil. Higher vigor and drought tolerance than dessert bananas. Plays a long-lived structural role in syntropic systems.

📚 Synonyms

Scientific synonyms: Musa AAB 'Plantain', Musa AAB 'Terra', Musa AAB 'D'Angola'

Götsch succession

Götsch stage
Placenta II
Ecological role
Pioneer
Primary stratum
High
Strata
Emergent, High
Biomass class
Mulch biomass

Environment

Light requirement
Full sun
Water requirement
High
Drought tolerance
Moderate
Waterlogging tolerance
None
Soil pH range
5–7
Preferred soil texture
Loamy, Clayey, Sandy
Hardiness zones
10–13
Frost tolerance
0.0 °C

Morphology

Mature height
5–7 m
Recommended spacing
3–4 m
Root system
Fibrous
Root depth
Shallow
Growth rate
Very fast
Lifespan
2–4 years
Time to first harvest
15 months
Productive lifespan
4 years

Biomes & climate

Köppen classes

Where it fits in a guild

Plantain takes the High stratum in the Placenta II phase of succession — in a guild it shares the line with species from the other strata, each harvesting light at its own height, in its own time.

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Emergent High · ≈7 m Medium Low Ground cover

🪴 Cultivation

Spacing 3×3 m to 4×4 m. Tolerates poorer soils than dessert cultivars. Prolonged cold delays the cycle (optimum range 22–31°C).

✂️ Management & Pruning

Cut the pseudostem after the bunch is harvested — biomass returns to the soil as mulch. Thin suckers, keeping 1–2 followers per mat to stagger production.

📅 Phenology

Flowering months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Fruiting months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

❓ Frequently asked questions

How long until the first harvest of plantain?

The first harvest of plantain comes around 15 months after planting.

What spacing is recommended for plantain?

The recommended spacing for plantain is 3–4 m.

How tall does plantain grow?

At maturity, plantain reaches 5–7 m tall.

When does plantain fruit?

Fruiting of plantain occurs in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

When does plantain flower?

Flowering of plantain occurs in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

What stage and stratum does plantain occupy in a syntropic system?

In a syntropic system, plantain belongs to the placenta ii stage, occupying the high stratum.

Functions

🌿 Biomass producer 🪴 Nurse plant 🍎 Fruit

Propagation

Division, Runners / suckers, Tissue culture

Citations

  1. Gripp, R. — Cultivo da Banana da Terra: Guia Completo (spacing_min_m, spacing_max_m, drought_tolerance)
  2. SciELO Brasil — Avaliação fitotécnica de bananeiras tipo terra sob irrigação em condições semi-áridas (height_min_m, height_max_m, biomes)
  3. POWO — Musa × paradisiaca L. (scientific_author, family, genus, external_ids)
  4. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Musa ×paradisiaca L. (2762752) (external_ids)
  5. ITFNet — Banana Agronomy (ph_min, ph_max, waterlogging_tolerance, root_system, root_depth, pruning_notes)
  6. Joshi et al. (2023) — A review on adaptation of banana (Musa spp.) to cold in subtropics, Plant Breeding (frost_tolerance_c)

External references

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