| Common Name : | Banana. |
| Botanical Name : | Musa acuminata |
| Synonym : | Musa x paradisiaca |
| Family : | Musaceae |
| Bengali Name : | Kola ( |
| Photo Taken : | Bangladesh |
The Banana that we had earlier in many centuries back that doesn't exist anymore (or may exists in wild). Cause the banana that we eat these days are the hybrid one. It had gone through a lot of genetically modification and hence these days we only see the Banana with almost no seeds (only few black spots). And that is the reason now a days we can grow Banana only from the rhizomes rather than seeds.
I am not sure where the Banana was initially native. Cause now a days these grows very well in almost every tropical countries. In Bangladesh it is very common and you could see them everywhere. Almost every villagers from Bangladesh are Banana trees around their house. Binomial name of the Banana can be called as Musa acuminata or Musa x paradisiaca as they are the mostly cultivated Banana hybrids. In Bangladesh it is known as Kola (
Banana (Musa acuminata) is a fast growing herbaceous large plant. Although the most of the plant grows around 10 feet in height, but some varieties can grow up to 30 feet in height. The Banana leafs are very large and in village it is sometimes compared with the blanket of poor people (as leaf gets torn when mature). Leafs stalks actually wrap the plant and later become hard. In together those leafs form the false trunk for the plant. A single Banana plant can bring only one flower crown. Once the plant dies few new baby Banana trees grows from the rhizomes. That's why from one Banana tree it is possible to make a thick Banana tree bush very quickly.
Banana (Musa acuminata) flower is an inflorescence. Crown of the Banana flower is slightly bigger in size. The color of the crown is maroon. The bracts of the crown are actually spirally arranged and underneath the bract a cluster of flower can be seen. The bracts are opening slowly day by day, and through this process it helps to produce a huge cluster of Banana. I am not sure, probably a cluster can contain around 50-200 Bananas. When ripe the whole Banana can be edible except the skin (as modern day Banana doesn't have any seed).
Banana (Musa acuminata) is mainly cultivated for its edible fruit. Throughout the world the ripe fruit has a very high demand. In some countries (including Bangladesh) the green banana is used as a vegetable. I personally like green banana curry with river fish. I also like the smashed green banana (like smashed potato). Also the core of the banana plant is used as a vegetable. Amongst the poor this is a food source during scarcity. But for the rich it is sometimes a hobby dish. The crown of the Banana flower is also a very popular vegetable. Although lot of people do not like this as it is sticky and makes black stains while cutting and processing.
The leafs of Banana had numerous use in ancient time. It used to serve food in village festivals or ceremonies (i.e. marriage, after death, etc) as too many plates were not available (in Bangladesh people sometimes invited around 2000 people in one ceremony). Also people used to sell salt and other stuffs in market by wrapping with Banana leafs. But now a days these uses are rarely seen.
A farmer carrying the green banana to the market.
Photos of Banana (Musa acuminata) and flowers were taken from the following locations of Bangladesh:
1. September 2014 Khagrachhori.
2. December 2014: Hobiganj.
3. January 2015: Jhalakathi.
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icflora.blogspot.com/
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