These things I have learned about the banana through reading and asking Mr. Stephen Brown at Lee County Extension:
- banana is an herb, not a tree
- banana leaves are edible but VERY tough (I would not eat them, but good to know), they are great for wrapping delicate fish for grilling (excellent, from personal experience) and making environmentally friendly plates and storage
- fruit-bearing stalk must be cut down to 30" after removing fruit so that next sword/spear sucker can fruit
- banana water suckers grow a bit farther from the main stalk/pseudostem, leaf right away, have wider, floppier leaves versus sword/spear suckers, can be dug out to start new plants but are not the best for fruiting, are not part of the corm (similar to a tuber) as the main stalk/pseudostem and sword/spear suckers are
- banana sword/spear suckers grow close to the main stalk and share the corm with the main stalk, have thinner sword-like leaves after they have grown a bit, are better for cutting out and replanting as new plants, best for leaving and having the next crop of bananas
- video from Mr. Brown on suckers
- banana can recover from frost and fruit within a year if protected
- banana love, love, love water including waste water from kitchen such as cooled liquids from cooked canned goods, pasta water, steamed vegetable water, potato water...
- banana like mulch to keep their roots cool and damp
- "birth" of bananas is called inflorescence
- banana flower/blossom/heart is the big reddish upside-down teardrop that comes out first from the stalk, after that the bananas appear, then cut the flower off to allow the banana fruits to mature, the flower is edible and tastes similar to artichoke (I have not eaten one yet to confirm.)
- banana trunk is also edible (Not yet tried this.)
- group of bananas, similar to what you get at the grocery store, is called a "bunch", a bunch is part of a tier or "hand", a single banana is a "finger"
- fruiting banana needs support
- banana plant has been used to make paper, textiles, remedies, and food
- banana is slightly radioactive and is used as a basis to compare other slightly radioactive items (banana equivalent dose is based on one banana a day)
Above photos includes mini bananas in front, they are not suckers
