Banana

Banana plants are often mistaken to be trees but they are not. Bananas are the largest herbaceous flowering plant. They can grow as tall as eight meters high and the leaves which grow at the top of the trunk can grow as long as 9 feet.

Bananas grow fruits in hanging clusters. The hanging clusters are called bunch or commercially known as “banana stem”. Most ripe banana fruit turns yellow in color.

The tropics is where most bananas grow in commercial quantity. In regions where it is colder, bananas are cultivated as an ornament.

Last year, I planted a sapling I bought from a local nursery. I wasn’t sure that it will survive. The weather in Southern California is drier than the tropics but with constant watering it not only survived but thrived and is now bearing fruit. 

The one I planted is not as tall as the bananas found in the tropics and the leaves are not as long and as wide either. Other than the size, the plant is very healthy.

I hope the fruit will be sweet.