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Banano (Spanish)
Family: Musaceae
Genus: Musa
Distribution
Today they are cultivated
throughout the tropics and
are grown in at least 107
countries, primarily for
their fruit and to a lesser
extent to make fibre and as
ornamentals
Shortly after the discovery of the Americas, bananas were
introduced to the islands and mainland by Portuguese sailors in
the 16th Century. Costa Rica was the first country in Central
America to develop banana plantations, the first being created in
1872 with banana export to the USA following in 1879.
Neighbouring countries quickly followed suit and as a result
became known as “banana republics”.
Habitat
They thrive naturally on
deep, loose, well-drained
soils in humid tropical
climates.
Musa acuminata is one of the earliest plants to be domesticated by
humans for agriculture. In cultivation it is important that
banana plants are given enough space to spread their roots for
security thus preventing high winds from uprooting the
plant. They are grown successfully under irrigation in such semiarid regions as the southern side of Jamaica
Description
The banana plant is the
largest herbaceous
flowering plant. The plants
are normally tall and fairly
sturdy and are often
mistaken for trees, but their
main or upright stem is
actually a pseudostem
composed of overlapping,
sheathing leaf stalks or
petioles growing from an
underground stem or
rhizome.
Each pseudostem can produce a single inflorescence or bunch
of bananas. The inflorescence contains many bracts, sometimes
incorrectly called petals, between rows of flowers. A large flower
stalk, carrying numerous flowers, emerges from the pseudostem
and bends downwards to become bunches of 50-150 individual
fruits or fingers. The fruits are grouped in clusters, or hands, of
10-20. The plant has both female and male flowers. The female
flowers appear in rows further up the flower stalk from the rows
of male flowers. After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but
offshoots may develop from the base of the plant. Leaves may
grow 3-3.5 m in length Banana plants can grow up to six m tall
depending on the hybrid or cultivar.
Adaptation
There are hundreds of
varieties of banana plants in
cultivation with edible
bananas being classified
into several main groups
and subgroups species.
The most important species of banana is M. acuminata: this type
has several cultivars, the most widely consumed of which is
commonly referred to as the 'Cavendish' group. This group
accounts for the majority of exported bananas in various
countries. It is a relative newcomer as a mass produced cultivar.
Cultivated bananas are parthenogenic which makes them sterile
and unable to produce viable seeds. Lacking seed, propagation is
usually is done by removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that
develops from the base of the pseudostem) with some roots
intact.
The family Musaceae contains
Plantains and bananas
Shown here are
Plantains
Red bananas
Banano enanos (latundans)
Cavendish bananas
Animal Connections
Except for fish and
amphibians most animals
like bananas.
In Cameroon, studies have shown that waste plantain and
banana fruits, stems and leaves can be used as energy sources for
livestock, particularly in the dry season when there are feed
shortages.
Economic Value
Bananas are extensively
cultivated and used in
tropical regions and are
marketed in large urban
areas worldwide. They have
become a staple foodstuff
in many regions. Bananas
continued to be one of the
most popular snacks in
both the North American
and European markets.
Bananas became, and still are important commodities to Costa
Ricans. They are one of the leading revenue generating exports
as well as being providers of employment to thousands of
workers. However there has been a very high price to pay
environmentally. . Around the middle of the last century (1945)
a root fungus which became known as “the Panama Disease”
had a devastating effect on a number of plantations in Costa
Rica. As a result of this disease many plantations were
abandoned. Land was cleared elsewhere for continued and
increased banana production. Clearing and converting any
tropical lowland forest has a drastic impact on biodiversity,
especially so in Costa Rica, a country with such biodiverse
density, one of the highest in the world.
Interesting Facts
They are very nutritious:
low in calories,
carbohydrate-rich,
containing, a variety of
vitamins and minerals. One
banana can provide 11% of
daily fibre requirement.
They are an excellent
source of potassium.
Cano Palma
Even for local consumption, bananas are not allowed to fully
ripen on the plant. For export, the desired degree of maturity
attained before harvest depends upon distance from market and
type of transportation. Frequently, ripening is artificially
induced after shipment by exposure to ethylene gas. Specially
designed refrigerated ships transport bananas from tropical
countries to consumption centres in North America and
Europe.
The word banana may be of West African origin from the
Wolof word "banana" or from the Arabic word "banan".
Different species are grown by small communities living around
the general area of the station.
References
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/51297/banana
Australia and Pacific Foundation: Wilson, S.M. 1985 Phytolith analysis at Kuk Archaeology in Oceania 20 (3) 90-97
Google, Biodiversity ref: InternationalSuite101.com Jan. 8th 2011 Teresa Lojzer Corporate Document Repository: Agricultural and
Consumer Protection
www.actahort.org/books/490/490_39.htm;
Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation
www.coterc.org