Are bananas a fruit or a vegetable? that's why
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Many large herbaceous flowering plants of the Musa genus produce the well-known and much-loved banana. To distinguish them from dessert bananas, culinary bananas are often called "plantains." Bananas vary in color, firmness and size, but are usually curved and elongated. Its pulp is soft and high in starch, and when ripe it develops a green to yellow, even red, purple or brown rind.
Banana plants are the largest herbaceous flowering plants. Of all plants, banana plants are among the fastest growing. After 10 to 15 months, the plants should be fully developed. Depending on the variety you choose, your banana plant can grow to a certain height. While some of the largest types can reach heights of over 20 feet, dwarf versions only reach heights of 6 feet. Under the right conditions, banana trees can develop quickly, producing new leaves every few weeks.
Bananas are considered a fruit – and here's why!

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Although the banana plant is sometimes called the banana tree, it's actually a distant relative of ginger because it has a succulent trunk rather than wood. The yellow stuff that you peel and eat is essentially a fruit because it contains the plant's seeds. However, since the commercial production of bananas, the seeds have gradually become smaller and become small spots, and the plants are sterile.
Weird Botanical Facts! Bananas Are Technically an Herb
Yes, the banana plant is a distant relative of ginger and is classified as a macroherb! Botanically, the banana is considered an herbaceous plant because it does not grow a woody stem or trunk like a tree. Instead, pseudostems or fleshy stems are formed. It grows a vertically growing stem tightly surrounded by a spiral-shaped leaf sheath. The sheath only extends to the banana leaf. These leaves unfurl and fan out towards the top as the pseudostem grows. They grow the fluffy leaves we usually associate with banana trees, but for their size they are fragile and break easily.
Weird Botanical Facts! bananas are also berries
True berries are fruits with multiple seeds that grow from a single flower with a single ovary. Bananas fall into this group, but are easily overlooked due to their small seeds.
Bananas have many uses!

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Fruits are an integral part of our diet due to their many health benefits and variety of flavors. One fruit that can be used for many purposes is the banana! Every part of a plant, from stems and leaves to flowers and fruit skins, serves a specific purpose. The inflorescence, sometimes called the banana heart, as it emerges from the center of the plant during flowering, develops at the tip of the stem. It usually looks like a dark purple, long, tapered, densely packed flower. Banana hearts are edible! They are common in the produce section of such markets in the U.S. and are a mainstay in Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine.
Bananas are used in a variety of ways besides eating them as a fruit, such as making dishes out of their leaves or cooking with them. You can use raw bananas to make bread, banana chips, and other baked goods. Banana blossoms are used in a variety of cuisines, including soups, stir-fries, stews, and salads.
Did you know you can eat banana peels? They are a very nutritious food that can be eaten raw or cooked. You can even add the peel to banana tea, smoothies, or chutneys. They're high in antioxidants and fiber, which help keep your immune system functioning properly. If you learn more about it and try to use it, you will find that this simple fruit has many benefits!
More Science About Fruits and Vegetables
By definition, fruit is the juicy by-product of a plant that contains the plant's seeds and is a way for the plant to propagate its offspring. Herbs or any consumable part of a plant are considered vegetables. A plant is considered herbaceous if it has only one growing season and its stems have little or no woody tissue.
Cucumbers, squash, and eggplants, for example, are examples of surprising fruits. Kale and carrots are vegetables. Beans, nuts and coconuts are some unconventional fruits that are still 100% fruit. Hopefully you are now aware of this and have a better understanding of what a banana is!
Next:
Are olives a fruit or a vegetable? that's why
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Is Pumpkin a Fruit or a Vegetable? that's why
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about the author
I have spent a large part of my life as a writer and artist with great respect for viewing nature analytically and metaphysically. After careful investigation, the natural world reveals truths far beyond the obvious. For me, the source of everything we have is embodied in our planet; the process of writing and creating art around this subject is an attempt to convey the wonder of it.
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source
- LiveScience, available here: https://www.livescience.com/57477-why-are-bananas-considered-berries.html
- Homeperch, available here: https://www.homeperch.com/is-the-banana-a-fruit-herb-or-berry/
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, available here: https://www.britannica.com/plant/banana-plant