Bananas are one of our favorite fruits, which are cheap and delicious. In China, it is mainly produced in the southwest region and coastal areas such as Guangdong and Hainan; There are 130 countries in the world that are in the tropics, and the countries of Central America are the most productive of bananas. So, so many of everyone's favorite bananas are grown in**? Many people think that it grows on a "tree" like a banana tree, but in fact, the statement is a bit wrong, although the banana tree has the word "tree", it is not a tree, but a herbaceous plant.
Before figuring out that banana trees are herbaceous plants, we should first think about why we all think that banana trees are trees. In fact, this is mainly related to the appearance and shape of the banana tree, because even the height of the short banana tree can reach 35 meters, tall banana trees are generally 4-5 meters, and some even exceed 10 meters, so because banana trees still look very thick and tall, it is difficult for us to associate them with grass, but as trees.
Just like tall bamboo, is it difficult for us to imagine it as a kind of grass? But bamboo is a grass, it is a grass plant, not a woody plant. Because bamboo is monocots, and trees in general are mostly dicots. Furthermore, bamboo is hollow and grows very quickly. If you think about it this way, do you think that bamboo is very different from woody plants? On the contrary, it has a little more in common with banana trees.
In life, we can divide plants into three types according to their stem morphologyHerbaceous, woody and liana.
First of all, woody plants, that is, the plants we refer to in our daily life, such as apple trees, pine trees, etc., the stems of such plants are coarse fibers, woody hard, with growth rings, are perennial plants, and woody plants are divided into trees, shrubs and semi-shrubs.
The second is herbaceous plants, such as onions, wheat, sugarcane, etc., which have soft and thin stems, underdeveloped xylem, weak support, and short lifespan. But there are also cases as big as banana trees, and of course there are exceptions like bamboo.
Finally, there are the vines, which are softer than grass, and the shape of this type of plant can generally be twisted.
Therefore, from the perspective of plant science, the banana tree we know is actually one of themHuge herbaceous plantsIt has the distinctive characteristics of herbaceous plants, with soft stems, underdeveloped xylem and weak support. If you have ever cut a banana tree, you must have felt that even the thickest part of the banana tree can be easily cut off, because the stalk of the banana tree is actually a "false stalk", which is made of the leaf sheath of the banana wrapped layer by layer, that is, the "stem" of the banana is actually part of the leaf.
Moreover, if you have touched the stalk of a banana tree that has been cut down, you will notice that the cross-section of the banana tree is not as dry as that of a woody plant, it is full of mucilage, the juice is very rich, and it is very soft, and like an onion, it can be peeled off layer by layer. In addition, the vascular bundles of herbaceous plants do not have a cambium layer and cannot grow continuously, so the trunks of grass, banana trees and bamboo do not thicken from year to year, while woody plants increase with ageIt gets thicker year by year
So, the banana tree is not a tree, but a large herbaceous monocot.
This is because the bananas we eat are the fruits of banana trees specially cultivated by wild banana trees, and the advantage of this cultivated banana tree is obvious, that is, the fruit bears no seeds and has a good taste. However, the disadvantages are also obvious, the banana tree is highly sterile and has no way to bear fruit again, only one year long.
Therefore, in order to prevent the old banana tree from absorbing the nutrients from the land, and to ensure that the new shoots that grow from its roots (10 months from budding to harvesting bananas) can thrive in about the sixth month and ensure a steady stream of bananas in the coming year, the growers generally cut down the trees after harvesting the bananas, so that all the nutrients are used to grow new seedlings.
Because the banana tree conforms to many characteristics of herbaceous plants, the stem is soft, the xylem is underdeveloped, and the support is weak, especially its stem, which is a "false stalk", which is composed of leaves, so the banana tree is not a tree but a large herbaceous plant. In order to produce delicious bananas every year, the bananas are cut down after harvesting every year to ensure the smooth growth of the newly grown seedlings on their tubers.