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Banana
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<p>A banana is an elongated, edible <a href="/facts/Fruit/PBpuzk60">fruit</a> – <a href="/facts/Berry_(botany)/2JfhI0vw">botanically a berry</a> – produced by several kinds of large treelike <a href="/facts/Herbaceous/u6myDhE2">herbaceous</a> <a href="/facts/Flowering_plant/E5eGYIvY">flowering plants</a> in the <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> <i><a href="/facts/Musa_(genus)/93eWF8r3">Musa</a></i>. In some countries, <a href="/facts/Cooking_banana/31rJyyl4">cooking bananas</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Starch/gHAqGfJb">starch</a> covered with a <a href="/facts/Peel_(fruit)/p9J9Kp35">peel</a>, which may have a variety of colors when ripe. It grows upward in clusters near the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (<a href="/facts/Parthenocarpy/uxnMbHjs">parthenocarp</a>) cultivated bananas come from two wild species – <i><a href="/facts/Musa_acuminata/VSlPt3QD">Musa acuminata</a></i> and <i><a href="/facts/Musa_balbisiana/SM474R8b">Musa balbisiana</a></i>, or hybrids of them. </p><p><i>Musa</i> species are native to tropical <a href="/facts/Indomalaya/GHK7p0aW">Indomalaya</a> and <a href="/facts/Australia_(continent)/moNlN1Qk">Australia</a>; they were probably <a href="/facts/Domestication/tWB5s52s">domesticated</a> in <a href="/facts/New_Guinea/qB0bzfSH">New Guinea</a>. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make <a href="/facts/Banana_paper/KCYHsv1M">banana paper</a> and <a href="/facts/Textile/PJrVeM5S">textiles</a>, while some are grown as <a href="/facts/Ornamental_plant/ImyCDwMW">ornamental plants</a>. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2022 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 26% of total production. Bananas are eaten raw or cooked in recipes varying from curries to <a href="/facts/Banana_chip/VDCBP87B">banana chips</a>, <a href="/facts/Fritter/R62sdyD1">fritters</a>, fruit preserves, or simply baked or steamed. </p><p>Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between dessert "bananas" and cooking "plantains": this distinction works well enough in the Americas and Europe, but it breaks down in <a href="/facts/Southeast_Asia/VafwT517">Southeast Asia</a> where many more kinds of bananas are grown and eaten. The term "banana" is applied also to other members of the genus <i>Musa</i>, such as the <a href="/facts/Musa_coccinea/fYEtB6jn">scarlet banana</a> (<i>Musa coccinea</i>), the <a href="/facts/Musa_velutina/tpTkonfU">pink banana</a> (<i>Musa velutina</i>), and the <a href="/facts/Fe%2527i_banana/C14mrBB2">Fe'i bananas</a>. Members of the genus <i><a href="/facts/Ensete/pJ7J94bY">Ensete</a></i>, such as the <a href="/facts/Ensete_glaucum/BPI2sV6V">snow banana</a> (<i>Ensete glaucum</i>) and the economically important <a href="/facts/Ensete_ventricosum/10A1BY6W">false banana</a> (<i>Ensete ventricosum</i>) of Africa are sometimes included. Both genera are in the banana family, <a href="/facts/Musaceae/eP2fwBef">Musaceae</a>. </p><p>Banana <a href="/facts/Plantation/jucwoWpV">plantations</a> are subject to damage by parasitic <a href="/facts/Nematode/yLMJ43Eu">nematodes</a> and insect pests, and to <a href="/facts/Fungal_infection/YVK551qC">fungal</a> and <a href="/facts/Bacteria/wC8xSCsU">bacterial</a> diseases, one of the most serious being <a href="/facts/Panama_disease/xWgdSV0p">Panama disease</a> which is caused by a <i><a href="/facts/Fusarium/mMNDJycW">Fusarium</a></i> fungus. This and <a href="/facts/Black_sigatoka/50CM1RE0">black sigatoka</a> threaten the production of <a href="/facts/Cavendish_banana/v0EhuWoP">Cavendish bananas</a>, the main kind eaten in the Western world, which is a <a href="/facts/Triploid/L7xyKHdK">triploid</a> <i>Musa acuminata</i>. Plant breeders are seeking new varieties, but these are difficult to breed given that commercial varieties are seedless. To enable future breeding, banana <a href="/facts/Germplasm/rSHIk6px">germplasm</a> is conserved in multiple <a href="/facts/Gene_bank/JlWyqhja">gene banks</a> around the world. </p>