Musa (genus)

Musa is one of three genera in the family Musaceae; it includes bananas and plantains. There are around 70 species of Musa with a broad variety of uses.

Though they grow as high as trees, banana and plantain plants are not woody and their apparent "stem" is just the bases of the huge leaf stalks. Thus they are technically gigantic herbs.

Musa species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Giant Leopard Moth and other Hypercompe species including H. albescens (only recorded on Musa), H. eridanus and H. icasia.