Musa chinensis

Musa chinensis

Musa chinensis R. Sweet, Hortus britannicus, ed. 2: 596 (1830). nomen nudum.
Musa chinensis Lamb. ex Paxton

Accepted name	Musa (AAA group) 'Dwarf Cavendish' or Musa acuminata L. A. Colla, Memoria sul genere Musa e monografia del Medesimo : 66 (1820) and E. E. Cheesman, Kew Bulletin 3 (1): 22 (1948).
Synonyms	Musa cavendishii A. B. Lambert ex J. Paxton Musa acuminata L. A. Colla
Authorities	The synonyms are from: Musa cavendishii (with no author name stated) is from RHS 1956 and Champion. Musa acuminata is from Griffiths 1994, GRIN, and Hotta 1989. The World Checklist of Monocotyledons lists Musa chinensis Sweet, Hort. Brit. 2: 596 (1830), nom. nud. as a synonym of Musa nana Lour., Fl. Cochinch.: 644 (1790) which is listed as an accepted name.
Section
Distribution
Description
References	Champion 1967, Griffiths 1994, GRIN, Hotta 1989, RHS 1956, Stover & Simmonds 1987.
Comments	The name was published without a description but it is no doubt Musa (AAA group) 'Dwarf Cavendish'. Since this is derived exclusively from Musa acuminata it is appropriate to give that as the accepted name although less useful than Musa (AAA group) 'Dwarf Cavendish'. It is not appropriate to give Musa nana as an accepted name. Musa nana may well be the earliest published name that more or less fits Musa chinensis (a dwarf edible banana from China). However, Musa nana is not a good species. As pointed out above plants of this ilk are derived from Musa acuminata which can therefore be used as an accepted name for them. Sweet's Hortus britannicus; or, A catalogue of plants, indigenous, or cultivated in the gardens of Great Britain; arranged according to their natural orders, with references to the Linnean class and order to which each genus belongs; the whole brought up to the present time, and contains above 34,000 plants. Musa chinensis Lamb. ex Paxton, quoted by some, is a mistake. More discussion under Musa cavendishii.