| The Order Zingiberales |
| The Zingiberales consist of
eight plant families, most of which are of horticultural interest. These
families and their horticultural significance will be highlighted below.
The eight plant families in the Zingiberales are the Musaceae (the bananas), Strelitziaceae (the birds-of-paradise), Lowiaceae, Heliconiaceae (the heliconias), Zingiberaceae (the gingers), Costaceae (costus), Cannaceae (the cannas), and Marantaceae (the prayer plants). There are some conspicuous characteristics by which many of the plants in this order can be recognized, some of these are shown below: |
|
Ornamental banana (Musa ornata) |
The Musaceae (the bananas)
Bananas are among the
World’s most popular tropical fruit. In some Caribbean territories
bananas are a major cash crop (e.g. St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Jamaica and
Dominica). Most of the bananas produced in Barbados however are for
local consumption. At Andromeda we maintain
specimens of ornamental and crop type bananas. Banana links: Edible bananas (Biodiversity Explorer) |
Edible banana |
| More of the Zingiberales
Copyright © 2003 Stephen Proverbs ( c/o University of the West Indies, Cave
Hill Campus). All rights reserved. |