musa

Mu"sa, n.; pl. Musæ. Etym: [NL., fr. Ar. mauz, mauza, banana.] (Bot.) Defn: A genus of perennial, herbaceous, endogenous plants of great size, including the banana (Musa sapientum), the plantain (M. paradisiaca of Linnæus, but probably not a distinct species), the Abyssinian (M. Ensete), the Philippine Island (M. textilis, which yields Manila hemp), and about eighteen other species. See Illust. of Banana and Plantain.

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