Banana

• Mangosteen
• Fig
• Luffa
• Sapote
• Date
• Melon Kiwano
• Durian
• Quince

Musaceae musa: Banana is the common name used for these herbaceous, cultigenic plants as well as the name given to the fruit of this plant.

The ripe banana is utilized in a multitude of ways in the human diet—from simply being peeled and eaten out of-hand to being sliced and served in fruit cups and salads, sandwiches, custards and more!

Did you know that the mashed banana might have been one of your first natural adult foods? That's right, banana puree has been important as babies' first natural foods for years!

Interesting fact:Deep Purple released an album in 2003 entitled Bananas. Bananas are also humorously used as a phallic symbol due to similarities in size and shape

Planting: The edible bananas are restricted to tropical or near tropical regions, roughly the area between latitudes 30°N and 30°S. A suitable banana climate is a mean temperature of 80°F (26.67°C) and mean rainfall of 4 in (10 cm) per month. There should not be more than 3 months of dry season.

Maturity: Banana bunches are harvested with a curved knife when the fruits are fully developed, that is, 75% mature, the angles are becoming less prominent and the fruits on the upper hands are changing to light green.

Areas of Harvest: In tropical zones of Colombia and Brazil, bananas are not only an important part of the human diet but the fruits and the plants furnish indispensable feed for domestic animals as well.

Bananas and plantains are today grown in every humid tropical region and constitute the 4th largest fruit crop of the world, following the grape, citrus fruits and the apple.

Nutritional Factors: Bananas are a valuable source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and potassium.(Calories 65.5-111)