Banana+Plant

Have you ever wondered about the commonly known fruit, the banana? Such as where it came from, how it's produced, etc.? Well I'm about to share some information on it. I will start with a little information about where banana's come from, the appearance, and where in the world you can find it. Banana's originate from a plant called a banana plant, scientific name being Disambiguation ( www.tropicalpermaculture.com). As you can see in figure 1, the plant is very large, often mistaken for a tree. It has thick, long, green leaves growing from the top of the plant and a green/brownish trunk. A purple flower, called the inflorescence, grows downward from the main stem, which is called the pseudostem ( www.tropicalpermaculture.com). The actual banana's are grown from the top of the inflorescence pointing downward, as seen in figure 2. Banana plants are usually found in tropical regions due to it's need for warm weather. The ideal weather for this plant is 26-30 degrees celsius which is 78-86 degrees Fahrenheit ( www.tropicalpermaculture.com). The plant dislikes strong winds, being in extreme heat, and being in extreme cold ( www.tropicalpermaculture.com). It's found in different regions for different reasons. For example, places like Brazil, China, India, and Thailand grow banana trees for a source of local food, while places like Costa Rica, Columbia, and the Philippines use them for exporting ( www.banana.com).
 * Introduction **

**figure 1: Full grown banana plant. :** http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http:dominicanewsonline.com/wp//-//content/uploads/2010/08/banana_tree.jpg&imgrefurl=http://dominicanewsonline.com/dno/2010/08/page/3/&usg=__UFmzcJaYg2xJJQ6PWo4ARw0fS_w=&h=2277&w=1554&sz=214&hl= en&start=0&zoom= 1&tbnid=f1X9R_1Cjy6wM:&tbnh=164&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfull%2Bgrown%2Bbanana%2Btree%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1552% 26bih%3D964%26tbs%3Disch: 1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=135&vpy=58&dur=3728&hovh=272&hovw=185&tx=111&ty=127&ei=fbkKTdq DNIOUnQeTs_CBDw&oei=fbkKTdqDNIOUnQeTs_ CBDw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0 **figure 2: Banana's growing from full grown inflorescence.** : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:M._acuminata_x_balbisiana.JPG

The banana is extracted from the middle of the plant. It takes about 9 months to produce a bunch of bananas. You will know when your bananas are ready to be extracted when the bananas are fully green, well rounded, and the little flowers at the end of each banana are dry and easy to take off. At that point you are ready to take the bananas off the tree by using a long stick with a u-shaped ring on the end of it ( www.banana.com).
 * Product **

**Beneficial & harmful impacts** Bananas are used in many different recipes to make many different meals and desserts. Some popular foods would be banana bread, banana chips, banana cake, banana cream pie, banana smoothies, etc, or, you can just simply eat a ripe banana as a snack. Bananas are also an extremely healthy snack to have because it contains many healthy components that humans need. For example, one banana contains vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, calcium, fibre, folic acid, and other nutrients ( Jay C, 2010 ). Introducing banana's to your diet can help you in many ways. For example, the potassium found in bananas reduces the risk of high blood pressure and stroke, and as well, helps keep the muscles healthy to prevent cramping up while excessing ( Jay C, 2010 ). They also contain carbohydrates which is the human body's main source of energy ( Jay C, 2010 ). Those are most of the key benefits that banana's bring to humans. However, it is not only humans who eat banana's, animals also have bananas within their diets, such as monkeys, gorilla's, etc. It is shown that banana's are eaten by many different species. Even with all of the benefits that come from bananas, as a result, there are no harmful impacts that come from them.

In conclusion, bananas, or Disambiguation, are made from one of the many tropical plants mostly found in the warm climate regions. They are also not too difficult to maintain with the correct surroundings and time allotted to watering them. They contain many beneficial nutrients for the human body and are always a delicious snack at any time of the day!
 * Conclusion **

Banana's (2010). //How To Grow//. Retrieved December 9th, 2010 from http://www.banana.com/farming.html Buzzle (2010). // Eat Banana, Drink Banana, Shield Banana. // Retrieved December 9th, 2010 from http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-11-2005-64031.asp Tropical Permacultue (2010). // Growing Banana's. // Retrieved on December 9th, 2010 from http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-bananas.html


 * Kelly Gordon **