Bananae

Bananae plaunt

Fae the caur: bananaes as etten for ordinar bi peelin the skin in burly strips; bananae fruit; bananae cross section

Bananae is the common name for a fruit an the herbaceous plaunts o the genus Musa whit mak this commonly eten fruit. Thay are hameart tae the tropical airts o Sootheast Asie. Bananaes is likely tae hae been first domesticatit in Papua New Guinea. The day, thay are cultivatit thro-oot the tropics.

Bananae plaunts is o the faimlie Musaceae. Thay are cultivatit maistly for thair fruit, an tae a lesser extent for the makkin o fibre an as ornamental plaunts. As the bananae plaunts is for ordinar stilpert an fairly sturdy thay are aften miskent as trees, bit thair main or upricht stem is actually a pseudostem (leeterally "fake stem"). For some speshes this pseudostem can reak a hicht o up tae 2–8 m, wi leafs o up tae 3.5 m in lenth. Each pseudostem can mak a bunch o yellae, green or even reid bananaes afore deein an bein replaced bi anither pseudostem.

The bananae fruit grow in hangin clusters, wi up tae 20 fruit tae a tier (cried a haud), an 3-20 tiers tae a bunch. The tot o the hingin clusters is kent as a bunch, or commercially as a "bananae stem", an can weich fae 30–50 kg. The fruit averages 125 g, o whilk aboot 75% is watter an 25% dry matter content. Ilka individual fruit (kent as a bananae or 'finger') haes a protective ooter layer (a peel or skin) wi a fleshy edible inner portion. Baith skin an inner pairt can be etten raw or cuikit. Westren cultures generally eat the inner pairt raw an thraw awa the skin while some Asien culturs generally eat baith the skin an in o it cuikit. Teepically, the fruit haes monie strings (cried 'phloem bundles') whilk rin atween the skin an inner pairt. Bananaes is a valuable soorce o vitamin B₆, vitamin C, an potassium.