ALL ABOUT BANANAS
![รูปภาพของ pm2shirhil รูปภาพของ pm2shirhil](http://old.thaigoodview.com/files/profilepic/picture-101066.jpg)
BANANA TREE
Bananas are the most popular fruit in the world. The banana is, in fact, not a tree but a high herb that grows up to 15 metres. It is believed that there are almost 1000 varieties of bananas in the world, subdivided in 50 groups. The most commonly known banana is the Cavendish variety, which is the one produced for export markets.
|
DESCRIPTION A banana is an edible fruit produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. |
SCIENTIFIC NAME Musa × paradisiaca |
PESTICIDES Banana bunches are sometimes encased in plastic bags for protection. The bags may be coated with pesticides. |
Production and export of bananas and plantains by country (2011)[Note 1] |
||
Country |
Millions |
Percentage |
Table 1: Production |
||
29.7 |
20% |
|
11.1 |
8% |
|
10.7 |
7% |
|
9.2 |
6% |
|
8.0 |
6% |
|
7.3 |
5% |
|
6.1 |
4% |
|
5.1 |
4% |
|
4.8 |
3% |
|
3.9 |
3% |
|
All other countries |
49.6 |
34% |
Total world |
145.4 |
100% |
Table 2: Exports |
||
5.2 |
29% |
|
1.8 |
10% |
|
1.8 |
10% |
|
1.6 |
9% |
|
1.5 |
8% |
|
All other countries |
6.0 |
34% |
Total world |
17.9 |
100% |
Banana facts
- On average each person in the UK eats 10kg bananas a year – about 100 bananas!
- In Britain, we eat over five billion bananas every year
- The word banana comes from the Arabic word "banan", meaning finger
- The banana plant is not a tree, it is the world's largest herb
- The "trunk" of a banana plant is not made of wood, it is made of tightly overlapping leaves
- Bananas could help you to feel happier as they contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to promote relaxation and improve mood
- The inside of a banana skin can be used to calm an itchy mosquito bite - many people find that rubbing the bite with the skin helps to reduce irritation
- A medium-sized banana contains only 95 calories, and provides a quick-but-sustained energy boost in a natural, nutritious and easily digestible form with no fat, cholesterol or sodium
- British Banana supplier, Fyffes, received its first consignment of bananas 124 years ago, in September 1888
- A stem of bananas consists of “hands”, which consist of 10 to 20 bananas. When a hand is split, the bananas become “clusters”, which generally consist of between three to eight bananas
- The inside of a banana skin can be used to polish shoes!
Sources:
http://www.bananalink.org.uk/all-about-bananas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#Bananas_and_plantains