BANANS

Banana
(Musa), the multi-race family of banana plants. High, sometimes with a powerful giant grass root and short stalk. The leaves are very large, into the vagina to form a multi-tube - the false stem. After a break, young leaves, and then inflorescence, like a great brush. The flowers are hermaphrodite and the same. Fruit mnogosemennoy, yagodovidny, thick-skinned, with cultural forms, it is often deprived of seeds (plants reproduce vegetatively only) and up to 15 cm long and 3-4 cm in diameter. Such fruits on the same axis can grow to 300, their total mass is 50-60 kg. After the fruiting part of the ground B. die. About 60-70 species in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Australia.

B. - one of the most ancient cultures, and in tropical regions of the most important food plants and the main export. In the culture of the most common hybrid heat-loving species M. paradisiaca and M. X X X sapientum (dessert varieties - Sc. Pizang), and relatively cold yuzhnokit. M. nana (M. cavendishii). The fruit of cultural B. 40% of the skin and 60% of the mealy sweet flesh, the seeds are not developed. The flesh of fresh fruit contains 14-22% sugar, 5-8% starch, up to 1.5% protein. The aroma of the fruit depends on B. izovaleria-new-isoamyl and acetic-isoamyl esters. The fruits are used fresh and dried form, are prepared banana flour, preserves, marmalade, syrup, wine. Some species have fruits with B. stiff, mealy, savory flesh, they are used mainly to feed cattle, and meat for use in fried and boiled form. As a technical plants grown B. textile or spinning (M. textilis), a false trunks which produce a light strong fiber, Sc. Manila hemp (abaca), used for the manufacture of marine ropes, fishing gear, etc. B. Japanese, or decorative (M. basjoo), grown in the USSR on the Black Sea coast of Caucasus and Crimea as a decorative plant. As for food, while a textile plant in Africa разводят Abyssinian B. (M. ensete), which is now often referred to the genus Ensete (E. ventricosum).

Lit.: Alekseev VP, Banana, "Bul. All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Tea and Subtropical Crops, 1955, № 2, Zhukovsky P., cultivated plants and their congener, 2 ed., L., 1964 .
BANANS