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Banana plants are among the largest extant herbaceous plants, some reaching up to 9 m (30 ft) in height or 18 m (59 ft) in the case of Musa ingens.The large herb is composed of a modified underground stem (), a false trunk or pseudostem formed by the basal parts of tightly rolled leaves, a network of roots, and a large flower spike.
Grand Nain variety of banana in a farm at Chinawal village in India. Taxonomically speaking, the Grand Nain is a monocot and belongs to the genus Musa.Species designations are difficult when considering bananas because nearly all banana cultivars are descendants or hybrids of the Musa acuminata or Musa balbisiana, wild species that have been propagated for agricultural use.
It is assumed that wild bananas were cooked and eaten, as farmers would not have developed the cultivated banana otherwise. Seeded Musa balbisiana fruit are called butuhan ('with seeds') in the Philippines, [7] and kluai tani (กล้วยตานี) in Thailand, [8] where its leaves are used for packaging and crafts. [9]
Blue Java banana trees can grow to a height of 4.5 to 6 metres (15 to 20 ft). They are cold-tolerant and wind-resistant because of their strong pseudostems and root systems. The leaves are silvery green in color. [2] [3] The fruit bunches are small, bearing seven to nine hands.
Most banana cultivars which exhibit purely or mostly Musa acuminata genomes are dessert bananas, while hybrids of M. acuminata and M. balbisiana are mostly cooking bananas or plantains. [23] Musa acuminata is one of the earliest plants to be domesticated by humans for agriculture, 7,000 years ago in New Guinea and Wallacea. [24]
Plantain and banana allergies occur with typical characteristics of food allergy or latex fruit syndrome, [45] [46] including itching and mild swelling of the lips, tongue, palate or throat, skin rash, stomach complaints or anaphylactic shock.
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The following is a list of banana cultivars and the groups into which they are classified. Almost all modern cultivated varieties ( cultivars ) of edible bananas and plantains are hybrids and polyploids of two wild, seeded banana species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana .