Banana

Musa x paradisiaca

Physical Characteristics

Musa x paradisiaca is an evergreen Perennial growing to 8 m (26ft) by 4 m (13ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Birds, Bats. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant is not wind tolerant.

Distribution

Only known as a cultivated plant, it is a hybrid of M. Acuminata × M. Balbisiana.

Habitats

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers Fruit Shoots Stem Edible Uses: Drink Salt Fruit - raw or cooked. Dessert forms are sweet and succulent when fully ripe and are widely eaten out of hand, though they are very versatile and are used in a wide variety of other ways. For example, they are commonly used with other juicier fruits to make smoothies, they can be baked, cooked in cakes, dried for later use etc. Plantains are richer in starch and contain less sugars. Whilst these are more commonly cooked as a vegetable, when fully ripe they make a very acceptable raw fruit[K ]. Male inflorescences are eaten in curries or cooked with coconut milk[301 ]. The inner stem can be boiled and eaten, or can be dried and made into a flour and starch[301 ]. Blanched shoots that sprout from the base can be roasted and eaten[301 ]. The leaves are commonly used for wrapping foods that are to be cooked - especially glutinous rice dishes. They impart a distinctive flavour and a greenish colour[301 ]. Nectar of the flowers is consumed[301 ]. The ashes of the plant can be used as a salt substitute[301 ].

Medicinal Uses

Antidiarrhoeal Antitussive Astringent Dysentery Epilepsy Haemostatic Skin Vesicant The unripe fruits and their sap are astringent and haemostatic[254 , 348 ]. They are eaten, often roasted, as a treatment for diarrhoea[254 , 348 ]. The fruit is used to treat epilepsy[348 ]. The peeled and sliced fruit is placed on the forehead to relieve the heat of a headache[348 ]. The peel of the fruit is considered an abortive[348 ]. The leaves, dried and made into a syrup, are used to treat coughs and chest conditions such as bronchitis[254 ]. An infusion of the banana leaf, combined with sugarcane roots, is used to hasten childbirth[348 ]. The leaves are applied as a vesicant on blistering[348 ]. It is tied onto the forehead to relieve a headache[348 ]. The pulp of the trunk is made into an infusion to soothe dysentery[348 ]. A liquid collected at a cut stem is an antiseptic that is applied to furuncles and wounds[348 ]. The root is strongly astringent and has been used to arrest the coughing up of blood[254 ]. Applied externally, the juice of the root is used to treat carbuncles and swellings[348 ]. The flowers are astringent[272 ]. The fruit contains two vasoconstrictors: norepinephrine (a chemical used to raise blood pressure) and dopamine. Norepinephrine is good for a weak heart[348 ]. The fruit is also rich in vitamin A[348 ]. Sap of the fruit contains serothine, which has an action on the long muscles[348 ].

Known Hazards

None known