The name of our semi-hardy banana which flowered in the Medicinal Garden in July 2009 has been linked to Antonius Musa (63–14 BC), physician to the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. He was the brother of Euphorbus, physician to King Juba II of Numidia after whom Euphorbia (qv) was named. Musa cured Augustus of ‘congestion of the liver’ with cold compresses, and of sciatica by beating the affected part with a stick. Augustus honoured him, exempting physicians from paying taxes, and a statue was erected in his honour near that of Aesculapius in Rome. ‘Musa’ is also the Arabic word for banana.