2/15/2017 BananaWikipedia

Banana
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thebananaisanediblefruitbotanicallyaberry[1][2]producedby
severalkindsoflargeherbaceousfloweringplantsinthegenusMusa.[3]
Insomecountries,bananasusedforcookingmaybecalledplantains,in
contrasttodessertbananas.Thefruitisvariableinsize,colorand
firmness,butisusuallyelongatedandcurved,withsoftfleshrichin
starchcoveredwitharindwhichmaybegreen,yellow,red,purple,or
brownwhenripe.Thefruitsgrowinclustershangingfromthetopof
theplant.Almostallmodernedibleparthenocarpic(seedless)bananas Fruitsoffourdifferentbanana
comefromtwowildspeciesMusaacuminataandMusabalbisiana. cultivars
ThescientificnamesofmostcultivatedbananasareMusaacuminata,
Musabalbisiana,andMusaparadisiacaforthehybridMusa
acuminataM.balbisiana,dependingontheirgenomicconstitution.TheoldscientificnameMusasapientum
isnolongerused.

MusaspeciesarenativetotropicalIndomalayaandAustralia,andarelikelytohavebeenfirstdomesticatedin
PapuaNewGuinea.[4][5]Theyaregrownin135countries,[6]primarilyfortheirfruit,andtoalesserextentto
makefiber,bananawineandbananabeerandasornamentalplants.

Worldwide,thereisnosharpdistinctionbetween"bananas"and"plantains".EspeciallyintheAmericasand
Europe,"banana"usuallyreferstosoft,sweet,dessertbananas,particularlythoseoftheCavendishgroup,
whicharethemainexportsfrombananagrowingcountries.Bycontrast,Musacultivarswithfirmer,starchier
fruitarecalled"plantains".Inotherregions,suchasSoutheastAsia,manymorekindsofbananaaregrownand
eaten,sothesimpletwofolddistinctionisnotusefulandisnotmadeinlocallanguages.

Theterm"banana"isalsousedasthecommonnamefortheplantswhichproducethefruit.[3]Thiscanextend
toothermembersofthegenusMusalikethescarletbanana(Musacoccinea),pinkbanana(Musavelutina)and
theFe'ibananas.ItcanalsorefertomembersofthegenusEnsete,likethesnowbanana(Enseteglaucum)and
theeconomicallyimportantfalsebanana(Enseteventricosum).Bothgeneraareclassifiedunderthebanana
family,Musaceae.

Contents
1 Description
2 Etymology
3 Taxonomy
4 Bananasandplantains
5 Historicalcultivation
5.1 Earlycultivation
5.2 PlantationcultivationintheCaribbean,CentralandSouthAmerica
5.3 PeasantcultivationforexportintheCaribbean
5.4 EastAfrica
6 Moderncultivation
6.1 Cavendish
6.2 Ripening
6.3 Storageandtransport
6.4 Productionandexport
7 Pests,diseases,andnaturaldisasters
7.1 Panamadisease

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana 1/21