A cell suspension of French Sombre plantain banana (Musa spp. AAB geno
me) was initiated from callus obtained from young male flowers. Histol
ogical examination enabled us to describe and follow the evolution of
the suspension consisting of: embryogenic aggregates, proembryos, nodu
les, and isolated cells. It demonstrated the unicellular origin of som
atic embryos, either during maintenance of the suspension or after pla
ting on a semisolid medium. The cells from which the embryos originate
d had no starch but only protein reserves. Plating 1 ml of packed cell
s from the suspension led to the formation of 10(5) embryos of which 1
0 to 40% could be converted into plantlets.