A genus of perennial, herbaceous, endogenous plants of great size, including the banana (
Musa sapientum), the plantain (
Musa paradisiaca of Linnæus, but probably not a distinct species), the Abyssinian (
Musa Ensete), the Philippine Island (
Musa textilis, which yields Manila hemp), and about eighteen other species. See
Illust. of
Banana and
Plantain. [
1913 Webster]