A banana is the common name for a type of fruit and also the name for the herbaceous

plants that grow it. These plants belong to the genus Musa. They are native to the tropical region
of southeast Asia.
It is thought that bananas were grown for food for the first time in Papua New Guinea.[1] Today,
they are cultivated in tropical regions around the world.[2] Most banana plants are grown for their
fruits, which botanically are a type of berry. Some are grown as ornamental plants, or for
their fibres.
There are about 110 different species of banana. In popular culture and commerce, "banana"
usually refers to the soft and sweet kind, also known as dessert bananas. Other kinds,
or cultivars, of banana have a firmer, starchier fruit. Those are usually called plantains. Plantains
are mostly used for cooking or fibre.
Other than being used as food, beer can be made by fermenting the juice of certain cultivars in
Africa, known as beer bananas.[3] The ash of bananas can be used to make soap.[3] In Asia,
bananas are often planted to provide shade to plants that like shade, for
example coffee, cocoa, nutmeg or black pepper.[3] Because of this, banana plants can often be
found in plantations of other crops.