| 'Rojo' is a name used as a
cultivar name and is here spuriously "upgraded" to a specific epithet.
(See also Musa zebrina 'Rojo'). This plant is almost certainly a
horticultural form of Musa acuminata probably subsp. zebrina. The nomenclature of this plant and its close relatives seems
particularly confusing. There are obviously three very closely related forms of
Musa acuminata but sufficiently different for Norman Simmonds to treat them as
distinct subspecies:
Musa acuminata subsp. malaccensis (H. N.
Ridley) N. W. Simmonds
Musa acuminata subsp. sumatrana (O. Beccari) N. W. Simmonds
Musa acuminata subsp. zebrina (H. N. Ridley) N. W. Simmonds
A number of horticultural 'forms' at least of the
last two subspecies seem to be in cultivation. These tend to be given different
names by different nurseries or different literature e.g. 'Sumatrana', 'Zebrina', 'Rubra'
and 'Rojo'. The names are used sometimes as if they were species names. This
is wrong. The names are used sometimes as if they were cultivar names, as
here. This is also probably wrong in a formal sense because most are probably
referable to the subspecies. However, some plants may indeed be distinct selections
worthy of cultivar status. Unless and until someone collects all the cultivated
'forms' together in one place and evaluates them side-by-side it is likely not to be
possible to determine their true individual status. |