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Japanese Banana
Musa basjoo
バショウ
A large perennial herb native to southern China, introduced to Japan in ancient times and cultivated as a garden plant. The haiku poet Basho took his pen name from this plant. It has large banana-like leaves and is cold-hardy enough to be grown in gardens throughout Honshu.
Identification Points
- ✓Large elliptical leaves (1–2+ m long)
- ✓Pseudostem (layered leaf sheaths) appears trunk-like
- ✓Fruits are not edible (ornamental only)
Habitat
Gardens and parks (cultivated); forest edges in warm areas
Season
Year-round (foliage); summer (flowers)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Round
Growth form
Herb
Habitat
Cultivated
Petal count
6 petals
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Flower symmetry
Zygomorphic
Ovary position
Inferior
Plant sex
Monoecious
Latex
Present
Phylogenetic Positionバショウ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Zingiberales > Musaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (from about 65 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Musaceae includes some of the largest monocots. What appears to be a stem is actually a pseudostem of overlapping leaf sheaths. Large leaves and inflorescences evolved from a common ancestor shared with bananas.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification