Bananas are yet another fruit which is loved by one and all. I came across an interesting fact associated to Bananas which inspired me to include Banana tree in this biweekly post.

Bananas are both a fruit and not a fruit! Now this is confusing. We all know tomato is a fruit and a vegetable. But thinking of bananas as no fruit is sort of unacceptable. The yellow bananas we peel and eat is, in fact, a fruit in itself because it contains the pulp and seeds within. But Banana plants have become sterile over the period and the seeds have gradually become specs giving rise to arguments about Banana being a fruit or not! While the banana plant is usually called a banana tree, it actually belongs to the family of Ginger. The reason being, Banana plant has a succulent tree stem, instead of a woody one. Nature is very remarkable indeed! Below is the banana tree picture which was shared by my friend few years back grown in her backyard. The photo represents prosperity and balance to my eyes. This tree to similar to coconut with almost every part being used by human beings. The inner stem (whitish succulent part), banana flowers, raw bananas are used as a edible vegetable to make curries and raitas. Fruit is almost the staple food of many people which is very filling and the smoothies from the ripe bananas are a fancy intake these days. Banana flavoured ice cream is a delicious treat especially to beat the summer heat. In Southern part of India, Banana leaves are used to serve food during festivals and auspicious functions. It has been proved scientifically that eating food served on banana leaves are beneficial and plays a major role in digestion process.

Sharing a poem which I happened to read online, written by Elena Plotkin

I grew up with a bunch of others,
Just me with my sisters and brothers.
When I was younger, I was green and tough,
But as I grew older, I discovered life could be rough.
I changed and grew softer, some called me yellow.
But I was no coward, just a very cautious fellow.
Because where I come from you never know the day,
That your whole family gets eaten or just carted away.

Thanks to Parul for creating a platform to express love towards the trees!