Banana

:For other meanings, see banana (disambiguation)

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Hybrid origin; see text

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A banana is a tree-like plant (though strictly a herb) of the genus Musa in the family Musaceae, closely related to plantains. The stems grow to 4-8 m tall, with large leaves 2-3 m long. The term banana is also applied to the elongated fruit (technically a false berry) of the plant, species and varieties) in hanging clusters, several to many fruits to a tier (called a hand), many tiers to a bunch. Bananas typically weigh between 125-200 g, though this varies considerably between different cultivars; of this, about 80% is edible, and the skin the remaining 20%.

Related Topics:
Tree - Plant - Herb - Genus - Musa - Family - Musaceae - Plantain - Leaves - Fruit - False berry

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The total of hanging clusters is called a 'stem' in the commercial world. The banana was originally cultivated by pre-historic peoples in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

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The flavour and texture of many kinds of bananas are affected by the temperature at which they ripen. Bananas spoil and turn grey at low temperatures and are only refrigerated down to 13.5°C during transportation.

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In 2002, over 68 million tonnes were harvested of which 12 million tonnes were traded worldwide, with Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia and the Philippines exporting over 1 million tonnes of bananas each.

Related Topics:
2002 - Ecuador - Costa Rica - Colombia - Philippines

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