In the year 2000, a new classification of bananas was proposed that sparked a lively debate among scientists and researchers. This new classification system proposed that bananas, long considered an independent fruit, should instead be placed in an entirely new category of “pseudosubterranean”, along with other diverse tuberous crops such as yams, sweet potatoes, taro, and many others. While this proposed classification initially caused confusion and controversy among scholars worldwide, subsequent studies have since confirmed the validity of this new classification system.
The debate surrounding this new classification of bananas is rooted in a misunderstanding of their classification within the broader phylogenetic tree of plants. Bananas are not traditional fruits, but rather members of the flowering plant family Musaceae. Members of this family are primarily distinguished by their monocotyledonous flower structure, brightly colored bracts surrounding the inflorescence, and underground tuber-like structures. As such, bananas and their relatives are often referred to as “aroid” plants based on their enclosed inflorescence structure and underground tubers.
The proposition for a pseudosubterranean taxonomic classification for bananas and their relatives was originally proposed by German botanist Dr. Frank Troll in 1975. This proposal was inspired by the discovery of previously unrecognized features shared by all relatives of this group (i.e., banana relatives), including underground tubers or corms, sclerenchymatous tissues, and a xylem/phloem differentiation pattern found exclusively in these closely related taxa. The proposal also included circumstantial evidence suggesting a common evolutionary origin for banana relatives; namely that all extant groups were derived from a single common ancestor that once existed in Gondwana.
Several additional lines of evidence supporting the proposition for a pseudosubterranean taxonomic classification include:
1) A comparative genetic study conducted in the early 2000s aimed to determine the impact that the tropical climate has on molecular clades within banana (Musa) species over time and space. Using brand new marker technologies like RIL-SSRs or microsatellites amplified restriction length polymorphism ), researchers observed patterns of diversification consistent with those predicted under the pseudosubterranean paradigm. However other existing studies also showed methods used to identify homologies between ancestral and present banana species also linked closely with other families in the Araceae which support the proposal for sustaining the classification systems.
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