The four families of the basal banana group exhibit less taxonomic diversity than the terminal ginger group. The three genera of Musaceae are distributed in tropical Asia and Africa, although fossil evidence reveals their presence in North America and Africa in the Tertiary, while the three genera of Strelitziaceae are allopatric (isolated from each other) being found in Madagascar, southern Africa and the Amazon Basin respectively and Lowiaceae occurs in Southeast Asia. The largest family in this group, the Heliconiaceae is primarily neotropical, but also occurs in the Pacific from Samoa to Sulawesi.
The four families of the basal banana group exhibit less taxonomic diversity than the terminal ginger group. The three genera of Musaceae are distributed in tropical Asia and Africa, although fossil evidence reveals their presence in North America and Afric,a in the Tertiary while the three genera of Strelitziaceae are allopatric (isolated from each other) being found in Madagascar southern Africa and the Amazon Basin respectively and Lowiaceae occu,rs in Southeast Asia. The largest family in this group, the Heliconiaceae is primarily neotropical, but also occurs in the Pacific from Samoa to Sulawesi.