A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing them from dessert bananas. The fruit is variable in size, color, and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind, which may have a variety of colors when ripe. The fruits grow upward in clusters near the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Most cultivated bananas are M. acuminata, M. balbisiana, or hybrids of the two.
Cooking bananas are a group of starchy banana cultivars in the genus Musa whose fruits are generally used in cooking. They are not eaten raw and generally starchy. Many cooking bananas are referred to as plantains or 'green bananas'. In botanical usage, the term "plantain" is used only for true plantains, while other starchy cultivars used for cooking are called "cooking bananas". True plantains are cooking cultivars belonging to the AAB group, while cooking bananas are any cooking cultivar belonging to the AAB, AAA, ABB, or BBB groups. The currently accepted scientific name for all such cultivars in these groups is Musa × paradisiaca. Fe'i bananas from the Pacific Islands are often eaten roasted or boiled, and are thus informally referred to as "mountain plantains", but they do not belong to any of the species from which all modern banana cultivars are descended.
The blood banana, is a variety of the wild banana Musa acuminata native to Sumatra, Indonesia. The blood banana is an ornamental plant, named for the dark red patches on its leaves, though its small-seeded fruits are also edible. It grows 6' to 8' tall in the wild, but is well-adapted to container growing and can be maintained at 3' to 5'. It grows best in full or partial sun and is hardy in zones 9 - 11.
Cavendish bananas are the fruits of one of a number of banana cultivars belonging to the Cavendish subgroup of the AAA banana cultivar group. The same term is also used to describe the plants on which the bananas grow.
Gros Michel, often translated and known as "Big Mike", is an export cultivar of banana and was, until the 1950s, the main variety grown. The physical properties of the Gros Michel make it an excellent export produce; its thick peel makes it resilient to bruising during transport and the dense bunches that it grows in make it easy to ship.
A banana fritter is a fritter made by deep frying battered banana or plantain in hot oil. It is a common dish across Southeast Asia and South India.
Red bananas are a group of varieties of bananas with reddish-purple skin. Some are smaller and plumper than the common Cavendish banana, others much larger. When ripe, raw red bananas have a flesh that is creamy to light pink. They are also softer and sweeter than the yellow Cavendish varieties, some with a slight tangy raspberry flavor and others with an earthy one. Many red bananas are exported by producers in East Africa, Asia, South America, and the United Arab Emirates. They are a favorite in Central America as a form of aphrodisiac juice, along with being a favourite in India to promote fertility but are sold throughout the world.
Musa balbisiana, also known simply as plantain, is a wild-type species of banana. It is one of the ancestors of modern cultivated bananas, along with Musa acuminata.
Musa acuminata is a species of banana native to Southern Asia, its range comprising the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Many of the modern edible dessert bananas are from this species, although some are hybrids with Musa balbisiana. First cultivated by humans around 10 kya, it is one of the early examples of domesticated plants.
The Blue Java is a hardy, cold-tolerant banana cultivar known for its sweet aromatic fruit, which is said to have an ice cream-like consistency and flavor reminiscent of vanilla. It is native to Southeast Asia and is a hybrid of two species of banana native to Southeast Asia—Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata.
Saba banana is a triploid hybrid (ABB) banana cultivar originating from the Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can also be eaten raw. It is one of the most important banana varieties in Philippine cuisine. It is also sometimes known as the "cardaba banana", though the latter name is more correctly applied to the cardava, a very similar cultivar also classified within the saba subgroup.
Lady Finger bananas are banana cultivars belonging to the Sucrier subgroup of the AA banana cultivar group. Originating in Malaysia, Lady Finger banana is the most widely cultivated AA cultivar and is one of the world’s most popular local bananas. Banana fruits are finger-sized, thin skinned, and deliciously sweet.
The Latundan banana is a triploid hybrid banana cultivar of the AAB "Pome" group from the Philippines. It is one of the most common banana cultivars in Southeast Asia and the Philippines, along with Lacatan and Saba bananas. Its Malaysian name is pisang rastali.
Lakatan bananas, also spelled Lacatan, are diploid banana cultivars from the Philippines. It is one of the most common banana cultivars in the Philippines, along with the Latundan and Saba bananas.
Señorita bananas are diploid cultivars of the banana Musa acuminata originating in the Philippines. They are very small stout bananas which, like all bananas belonging to the AA cultivar group, are known for being extraordinarily sweet.
Musa × paradisiaca is a triploid cultivar of banana, belonging to the Cavendish banana subgroup, originating as the hybrid between Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, cultivated and domesticated by human very early. Most cultivated bananas and plantains are cultivars of this hybrid. Linnaeus originally used the name M. paradisiaca only for plantains or cooking bananas, but the modern usage includes hybrid cultivars used both for cooking and as dessert bananas. Linnaeus's name for dessert bananas, Musa sapientum, is thus a synonym of Musa × paradisiaca.
Masak Hijau bananas are triploid banana cultivars from Malaysia. It is a member of the commercially important Cavendish banana subgroup. It is a popular banana cultivar in Southeast Asia and the West Indies.
Bluggoe, Orinoco, Musa'Orinoco', or burro is a cultivar of banana.
Chuối nếp nướng, also known as grilled banana wrapped in sticky rice, is a popular street food in Vietnam, particularly in the southern region.
