Botany
Botanically, the bananas are placed in the genus Musa in the family Musaceae. The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), assigns Musaceae to the order Zingiberales in the clade commelinids in the monocotyledonous flowering plants.
The banana plant is a pseudostem that grows to 6 to 7.6 metres (20 to 25 ft) tall, growing from a corm. Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) long and 60 cm (2.0 ft) wide.[4] The banana plant is the largest of all herbaceous flowering plants.[5] The large leaves grow whole, but are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.[6]
A single, sterile, male banana flower, also known as the banana heart is normally produced by each stem (though on rare occasions more can be produced—a single plant in the Philippines has five[7]). Banana hearts are used as a vegetable in Southeast Asia, steamed, in salads, or eaten raw.[8] The female flowers are produced further up the stem and produce the actual fruit without requiring fertilization. The fruit has been described as a "leathery berry".[9] In cultivated varieties, the seeds have degenerated nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit. The ovary is inferior to the flower; because of their stiff stems and the positioning of the ovary and flower, bananas grow sticking up, not hanging down.
Some sources assert that the genus of the banana, Musa, is named for Antonio Musa, physician to the Emperor Augustus.[10] Others say that Linnaeus, who gave the genus its name in 1750, simply adapted an Arabic word for banana, mauz.[11] The word banana itself comes from the Arabic word banan, which means "finger".[11] The genus contains numerous species; several produce edible fruit, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.[12]
Properties
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 371 kJ (89 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 22.84 g |
| Sugars | 12.23 g |
| Dietary fiber | 2.6 g |
| Fat | 0.33 g |
| Protein | 1.09 g |
| Vitamin A equiv. | 3 μg (0%) |
| Thiamine (Vit. B1) | 0.031 mg (2%) |
| Riboflavin (Vit. B2) | 0.073 mg (5%) |
| Niacin (Vit. B3) | 0.665 mg (4%) |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 0.334 mg (7%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.367 mg (28%) |
| Folate (Vit. B9) | 20 μg (5%) |
| Vitamin C | 8.7 mg (15%) |
| Calcium | 5 mg (1%) |
| Iron | 0.26 mg (2%) |
| Magnesium | 27 mg (7% |
| Phosphorus | 22 mg (3%) |
| Potassium | 358 mg (8%) |
| Zinc | 0.15 mg (1%) |
| One banana is 100–150 g. Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database | |
Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red. Bananas can be eaten raw though some varieties are generally cooked first. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can vary in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from firm to mushy. Unripe or green bananas and plantains are used as an ingredient in various dishes, such as in curries and stews, and are the staple starch of many tropical populations. Banana sap is extremely sticky and can be used as a practical adhesive. Sap can be obtained from the pseudostem, from the fruit peelings, or from the fruit flesh.
Most production for local sale is of green cooking bananas and plantains, as ripe dessert bananas are easily damaged while being transported to market. Even when transported only within their country of origin, ripe bananas suffer a high rate of damage and loss.[citation needed]
The commercial dessert cultivars most commonly eaten in temperate countries (species Musa acuminata or the hybrid Musa × paradisiaca, a cultigen) are imported in large quantities from the tropics. They are popular in part because, being a non-seasonal crop, they are available fresh year-round. In global commerce, by far the most important of these banana cultivars is 'Cavendish', which accounts for the vast bulk of bananas exported from the tropics. The Cavendish gained popularity in the 1950s after the previously mass produced cultivar, Gros Michel, became commercially unviable due to Panama disease, a fungus which attacks the roots of the banana plant.
The most important properties making 'Cavendish' the main export banana are related to transport and shelf life rather than taste; major commercial cultivars rarely have a superior flavor[citation needed] compared to the less widespread cultivars. Export bananas are picked green, and then usually ripened in ripening rooms when they arrive in their country of destination. These are special rooms made air-tight and filled with ethylene gas to induce ripening. Bananas can be ordered by the retailer "ungassed", however, and may show up at the supermarket still fully green. While these bananas will ripen more slowly, the flavor will be notably richer[citation needed], and the banana peel can be allowed to reach a yellow/brown speckled phase, and yet retain a firm flesh inside. Thus, shelf life is somewhat extended.
The vivid yellow color normally associated with supermarket bananas is in fact a side-effect of the artificial ripening process. Cavendish bananas that have been allowed to ripen naturally on the plant have a greenish-yellow appearance which changes to a brownish-yellow as they ripen further. Although both the flavor and texture of "tree ripened" bananas is generally regarded as superior to any type green-picked fruit, once natural ripening has commenced the shelf life is typically only 7–10 days, making commercial distribution impractical. For most people the only practical means of obtaining such fruit is growing it themselves, however this is also somewhat problematic, as the bananas all tend to ripen at once and have very poor keeping properties.
The flavor and texture of bananas are also affected by the temperature at which they ripen. Bananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 °C (56 and 59 °F) during transportation. At lower temperatures, the ripening of bananas permanently stalls, and the bananas will eventually turn gray as cell walls break down. The skins of ripe bananas will quickly turn black in the 4°C environment of a domestic refrigerator, although the fruit inside remains unaffected.
The banana flavor is due, amongst others, to isoamyl acetate which is one of the main constituents of banana oil.
It should be noted that Musa × paradisiaca is also the generic name for the common plantain, a coarser and starchier variant not to be confused with Musa acuminata or the Cavendish variety.
The leaves of the banana plant are large, flexible, and waterproof. They are used many ways, including as umbrellas and to wrap food for cooking or storage.[13] Banana leaves are also used to serve food in India and other Asian countries.
Banana chips are a snack produced from dehydrated or fried banana or plantain slices, which have a dark brown color and an intense banana taste. Unlike other fruits, it is difficult to extract juice from bananas because when compressed a banana simply turns to pulp.
Seeded bananas (Musa balbisiana), the forerunner of the common domesticated banana,[14] are sold in markets in Indonesia.
In India, juice is extracted from the corm and used as a home remedy for the treatment of jaundice, sometimes with the addition of honey, and for kidney stones.[15]
A 2008 study reported that ripe bananas exhibit a blue fluorescence when exposed to ultraviolet light. This property is attributed to the degradation of chlorophyll giving rise to the accumulation of a fluorescent product in the skin of the fruit. The chlorophyll breakdown product is stabilized by a propionate ester group. Banana-tree leaves also fluoresce in the same way. Green bananas do not show any sign of fluorescence. The study suggested that this allows animals which are capable of seeing in the ultraviolet spectrum to detect ripened bananas.[16]
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