BANANA (Musa Sp.)
The banana originated from tropical
Asia and was the first fruit to have been cultivated by Man. The original
banana which still grow wild in Asian countries are full of seeds, hard and are
not sweet. Today, the cultivated varieties are soft, seedless and sweet. The banana had left its mark on history. It
had been frequently referred to in ancient Hindu, Chinese, Roman, Greek and
Jewish writings and cultures. Linnaeus, when originally classifying so much of
the botanical world, named the banana Musa Paradisiaca. In Hindu legend, the
banana was the forbidden fruit and the island of Sri Lanka was Paradise. The
Roman scholar Pliny the Elder referred to the banana as the favourite fruit of
Alexander the Great. The sacred Hindu epic, Mahabarata by Vyas and Ramayana by
Valmiki mention the banana as an important fruit for all auspicious occasions
and in religious ceremonies where it is used as an offering to the gods. The
trunk and leaves are also used in Hindu marriages, religious and social
ceremonies. Slave traders took it to the Canary Islands in the 15th
century and from there, its cultivation spread to the American continent. In
1531, the plant was introduced to Mexico by the Spanish conquistadors.
There are more than 300 known varieties of bananas known to Man. The banana is a giant herbaceous plant and is the largest herb in this world. The trunk of the tree is actually a bundle of elongated leaf bases which grow wrapped together, with a single flowering stem, emerging from the top. The banana plant grows to a height of 1.5 to 3.0 meters and the large leaves spread from the upper portion of the plant. The bananas that grow in bunches from the fruit stalks are called hands whereas the individual fruit is called a finger. There are usually between 7 to 15 fingers per hand. The banana fruit is a berry and is protected by a cover known as the peel. The fruit is usually green when unripe and yellow when it is ripe. The unripe fruit is rich in starch which changes to sugar when it ripens.
There are 2 species of banana, the cooking and the dessert varieties. The cooking variety, such as the plantain is a very large banana, that is rich in starch and cannot be eaten raw. There are many bananas of the dessert variety. Some of the more popular ones consumed in Singapore and Malaysia includes the Rastali, Embun and Mas.
In addition to being eaten fresh, bananas may be cooked, chipped, made into beer or processed into starch. The leaves are used to wrap foods or to line utensils in which food is prepared. The flowers of the inflorescence and the center of the stem are also edible. Bananas contain fiber which helps the digestive tract to eliminate toxic wastes in the body. It also helps to prevent constipation and haemorrhoids.
Do you know…..In Christian mythology, the serpent that persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit was said to have been hiding in the long oblong leaves of the banana plant in the Garden of Eden
There are more than 300 known varieties of bananas known to Man. The banana is a giant herbaceous plant and is the largest herb in this world. The trunk of the tree is actually a bundle of elongated leaf bases which grow wrapped together, with a single flowering stem, emerging from the top. The banana plant grows to a height of 1.5 to 3.0 meters and the large leaves spread from the upper portion of the plant. The bananas that grow in bunches from the fruit stalks are called hands whereas the individual fruit is called a finger. There are usually between 7 to 15 fingers per hand. The banana fruit is a berry and is protected by a cover known as the peel. The fruit is usually green when unripe and yellow when it is ripe. The unripe fruit is rich in starch which changes to sugar when it ripens.
There are 2 species of banana, the cooking and the dessert varieties. The cooking variety, such as the plantain is a very large banana, that is rich in starch and cannot be eaten raw. There are many bananas of the dessert variety. Some of the more popular ones consumed in Singapore and Malaysia includes the Rastali, Embun and Mas.
In addition to being eaten fresh, bananas may be cooked, chipped, made into beer or processed into starch. The leaves are used to wrap foods or to line utensils in which food is prepared. The flowers of the inflorescence and the center of the stem are also edible. Bananas contain fiber which helps the digestive tract to eliminate toxic wastes in the body. It also helps to prevent constipation and haemorrhoids.
Do you know…..In Christian mythology, the serpent that persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit was said to have been hiding in the long oblong leaves of the banana plant in the Garden of Eden