Banana

Musa paradisiaca

The more than 40 different species of wild banana plants have a distribution from Africa through East Asia and Northern Australia to the South Seas. The wild ancestral forms of all economically important banana species produce inedible fruits containing seeds. It was only through breeding that the many edible banana varieties came into being.

Sweet bananas (or dessert bananas) are eaten raw. Starch can be extracted from plantains. They are used to make crisps, purée, alcoholic drinks and vinegar. In the tropics, plantains are often eaten boiled, baked or fried.

Banana plants are perennials with a short underground stem. The densely growing leaves form what are known as pseudostems. In certain species, these non-woody pseudostems can reach a height of up to 13 metres, whilst smaller species grow to just one metre. Banana leaves can grow up to six metres long! When exposed to the wind, the leaves tear at the sides and appear ‘feathered’.

From the centre of the false stem, a stem grows upwards, bearing a hermaphroditic inflorescence at its tip. The female flowers are located at the base of the inflorescence, whilst the male flowers are at the tip. The female flowers are open for just one day and are pollinated by bats and birds. An inflorescence of the wild forms usually produces between 10 and 16 individual fruits. The fruits of the wild species contain up to 100 hard-shelled seeds, whilst in the cultivated forms the ovules are stunted.

Distribution

wild varieties in Africa, East Asia, Australia and the South Pacific; cultivated varieties worldwide (tropical and subtropical regions)

Number of related species

over 40

Use

fruit and cooking bananas as food; Fibre bananas for fibre production; ornamental plants for gardens and parks

Habitat at the zoo:

Masoala Rainforest