Bananas are made from the fruit of the plant Musa acuminata.
Bananas are native to tropical Africa, and the cultivation of bananas spread from the East African region throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
In Africa, Bananas were cultivated in places such as Tanzania and Kenya and bananas reached the Americas in 1522 after being shipped to Spain.
Bananas are the most widely consumed fruit in the world.
The name "banana" is derived from the Mandingo word "ananab", and is the name of the local plant in West Africa.
In 1827, the French chemists Pierre Robiquet and Joseph Pitton de Tournefort gave the name "Musa" to the bananas from the West African region.
This was based on a mistake and was soon corrected to "Musa" as a generic term for plants of the genus "Musa" that were growing in or with bananas.
"M. acuminata" in the Plantaceae family.
There are 3 species of bananas:
Fruit: The leaves, stem, and flowers of the plant are covered in bright yellow, 3-petalled bracts.
The flowers are followed by red, ovate-shaped flowers with protruding stamens.
A single white pistil is present, while the two seeds are separate and enclosed in a red, fleshy capsule; the capsule is green at the center, becoming yellow-white as it ages.
The seeds are 1–2 mm in diameter and are green at first, but gradually turn brown to black.