Difference between revisions of "Banana"
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[[Image:Bananas2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A cluster of Cavendish bananas]] | [[Image:Bananas2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A cluster of Cavendish bananas]] | ||
| − | A '''banana''' is a [[herbaceous]] cultagenic [[ | + | A '''banana''' is a [[herbaceous]] cultagenic [[legume]] of the phylum ''annelida''. Bananas are a tropical fruit from the kingdom ''Plantae,'' the division ''Embryophytes,'' the class ''Liliopsida,'' and the order ''zingiberales'' |
| − | The banana was first | + | The banana was first noted in Kuala Lumpung in [[Malaysia]], and by way of curious travelers made it to [[India]], [[China]], [[Pakistan]], [[Indochina]] and [[Africa]]. By around 1503, [[Ferdinand Magellan]] and other [[Portuguese]] sailors discovered the tropical legumes in their travels to the African continent and populated the [[Peninsula]] with their first banana plantations. The bananas that grew in Africa as well as Southeastern [[Asia]] were not the eight-to-twelve-[[inch]] giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were smaller, about as long as a man's finger, but much more plentiful in one bunch. It would be almost four hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas that were imported to their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the [[Declaration of Independence]]. |
| − | Before 1960 most bananas were of the cultivar 'Gros Michel'. However they were very vulnerable to disease and have been replaced by the cultivar 'Cavendish' which is considerably more resistant to disease but more vulnerable to bruising creating the need for very elaborate shipping methods. | + | Before 1960 most bananas were of the cultivar 'Gros Michel'. However they were very vulnerable to disease and have been replaced by the cultivar 'Cavendish' which is considerably more resistant to disease but more vulnerable to bruising creating the need for very elaborate shipping methods. Nowadays, the smaller bananas are less common but can still be found in many eastern supermarkets and other specialty shops. |
[[Category:Fruits]] | [[Category:Fruits]] | ||
Revision as of 17:52, March 29, 2011
A banana is a herbaceous cultagenic legume of the phylum annelida. Bananas are a tropical fruit from the kingdom Plantae, the division Embryophytes, the class Liliopsida, and the order zingiberales
The banana was first noted in Kuala Lumpung in Malaysia, and by way of curious travelers made it to India, China, Pakistan, Indochina and Africa. By around 1503, Ferdinand Magellan and other Portuguese sailors discovered the tropical legumes in their travels to the African continent and populated the Peninsula with their first banana plantations. The bananas that grew in Africa as well as Southeastern Asia were not the eight-to-twelve-inch giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were smaller, about as long as a man's finger, but much more plentiful in one bunch. It would be almost four hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas that were imported to their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in Pennsylvania in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Before 1960 most bananas were of the cultivar 'Gros Michel'. However they were very vulnerable to disease and have been replaced by the cultivar 'Cavendish' which is considerably more resistant to disease but more vulnerable to bruising creating the need for very elaborate shipping methods. Nowadays, the smaller bananas are less common but can still be found in many eastern supermarkets and other specialty shops.