Talk:Banana

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Contents

[edit] Banana as a Herb

I've read somewhere that the banana tree is not a tree per se, but rather an herb. Any truth to this? Kent Wang 22:28, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC) I have also heard this and think it should be made clearer in the article that it is indeed a herb. --Chickenfeed9 15:20, 2 November 2006 (UTC) something I'm wondering about, can a plant change it's identity from a herb to a woody plant? I live in Ohio and there when I plant annual herbs (for example, basil) they die in a year. But in Florida (where my uncle also grows basil) many herbs - who would in Ohio be annuals - grow all year round. Instead of being herbs, they look more like small trees. Anybody know anything more about this? Pasque 16:51, 20 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Bananaphone

Something to lighten the mood... Bananaphone Also used in parody cartoons, characters will hold a banana to their ear, mimmicking the action of talking to someone on the phone. Enjoy :)

BOB THE BANNANA LIVES. mnemonic 20:10, 2004 Jun 27 (UTC)

[edit] Monkeys

As it seems to me, bananas ARE stereotypically eaten by monkeys (and apes, for that matter). Why delete that? Rhymeless 19:23, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)

eye agree mnemonic 11:00, 2004 Jun 24 (UTC)
I've put it back. Can someone show me a pic of a banana with a monkey ? Jay 12:05, 24 Jun 2004 (UTC)
many species eat bananas, including humans. Why only mention one group - and if anything the stereotype banana-eater is probably the chimpanzee rather than monkeys. This seems a very trivial item to insist on keeping, but if it must stay, surely it's not important enough to be in the opening paragraph? jimfbleak 16:22, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Bananas, spiders and myth

As a teacher of biology some years ago in a British port which imported and stored bananas, I was never short of specimens of insects and spiders (including tarantulas) brought to school for identification by the children of workers on the docksides and in the banana stores. Too common an occurrence to be considered all THAT newsworthy by the local daily newspaper. It had to be a pretty big spider to get a mention!

Not a myth. Merely a fact.

Michael Wood GRIMSBY, England. [...and SCAN -- the Society of Chiltern Antiquarians & Naturalists]

[edit] Bananas, potassium K-40, mutation, evolution legend

This has been moved here from so users know why it was removed. Original text in the legends section of the article was

"The natural potassium in bananas is partly made up of a low level of the radioactive isotope K-40. One associated legend is that K-40 is responsible the mutation and evolution of chimps into humans."

Obviously the above text can be improved to explain why it remains only a legend, the chimps statement etc, but it was deleted entirely-


Chimps did not evolve into humans. They are both branches of a common tree. RickK 20:31, Oct 21, 2004 (UTC)

Then you entirely missed the point about it being in the legends section of the article, and clearly using the word legend in the statement. In future you may want to consider either changing information for clarity (add an extra statement saying it is not true, for readers that didn't notice it was in the legends section of the article), or alternatively, correcting it (for example by changing chimps to earlier hominid species etc.) rather than deleting it entirely. Caa 02:10, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Sorry, you can't just say "legends", without mentioning where those legends are posted. WHO claims this? RickK 05:32, Oct 22, 2004 (UTC)

Then your editing would be inconsistent, as there is only one other source reference in the Legends section of the banana article, but you did not delete those others. Perhaps because you already know of those legends, in which case you would only be deleting the statement because you hadn't heard of it (and also that it was posted anonymously, I have since registered).
You could have answered your own question with a quick google for human evolution K-40 and mutations K-40 and may have found articles such as [1] which includes the statement "the bulk of whole-body beta absorption is from K-40" and also proposes that there may be a window in which certain levels of K-40 cause the ideal mutation rate to produce intelligent life etc. Now combine this with the concept that a high vegetable diet can be measured by the levels of K-40 measured in people (society for amateur scientists letters, scroll down to " A whole body counter can see it - I can tell about what proportion of someone's diet is veggies by the K-40 in their bodies." and also " All Ionizing radiation is harmful to some degree, but it has also been essential for evolution. What would life be like on this planet if the levels of Ionizing radiation had been much lower? Surely it has contributed to many of the successful mutations necessary to evolutionary diversity.") though I don't have access to the equipment to repeat the vegetables in the diet experiment myself. That is where the legend comes from. It was later removed as "irrelevant", does anyone think the text should be improved then re-included as a legend? Caa 09:28, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)

So it's MY responsibility to prove your edits are correct? No, it's YOUR responsibility to document your assertion. RickK 00:01, Oct 23, 2004 (UTC)

It is your responsibility to ensure that your edits are correct, but it appears you deleted the text based only on your assumption that the text was incorrect.
I already provided documented evidence above. However, must every assertion in the encyclopdia have a documented source? Even if it did, it would be unrealistic to do this for many Urban Legends sections of articles.
I am relativlely new to this but I recently read the article on avoiding common mistakes which states on the subject of Deleting useful content, "Clarify it instead of throwing it away." It also states that text should not be deleted without announcing (or justifiying if it is non-trivial). I also saw in Wikiquette that writers should work towards agreement, so according to the rules I propose that the text be changed to -
"The natural potassium in bananas is partly made up of a low level of the radioactive isotope K-40, which can cause a detectable increase (using a Geiger counter) in radiation from an average truck of bananas. However, this is normal and not harmful to humans as the concentration is low and the human body regulates the amount of potassium it retains." Source for banana truck
The above text hopefully reflects NPOV enough for most to agree, as it has a different focus to the original text. Does anyone else think this should be added to the legends section of the article? Caa 04:30, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

The natural potassium in anything is made up of K-39, K-40, and K-41. It's unremarkable that bananas contain K-40. - Nunh-huh 04:42, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Thanks, I know this, it doesn't change the truth of the above text, would you like to suggest an improvement to the wording of the statement? Perhaps "The natural potassium in bananas, like all natural potassium, ..." ? Caa 04:49, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)
No, I'd like to suggest that some true statements about bananas are too insignificant to merit mention in a well-written encyclopedia article about bananas. - Nunh-huh
In my opinion, the news item (as linked above) about bananas triggering radiation detectors at security checkpoints and trucks of bananas doing a similar thing, is no less significant than the other urban legends (spiders, seratonin, hallucinogenic skins etc. ). In my opinion, it is a factually important property of bananas and should be included. Can you specifically say why it is too insignificant in relation to those other urban legends that are included? Caa 06:33, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)
It has precious little to do with bananas. Put it in an article on "things that set geiger counters off". Don't put it in "bananas", "cocoa", "porcelain", "granite", "Brazil nuts", "kitty litter" and "pottery": it's incidental trivia about those items, while it's a pertinent fact in "geiger counters". Use some judgement. - Nunh-huh 13:36, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)
The legend has as much to do with bananas as the other legends that are included, why not put the spiders legend in a separate article about "things that spiders hide in" and put the smoking skins legend in a separate article about "things that can be smoked"? As I previously asked above, can you specifically say why it is too insignificant in relation to those other urban legends that are included? Specifically, why you think it is incidental trivia in relation to those other Urban legends? Also, why do you think incidental trivia should not be included in an encyclopaedic article, even when it is in the Urban legends section of the article? (a place where one might expect to find incidental trivia.) Caa 16:13, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)
If you think anything else in the article is as insignificant, you should remove them as well. - Nunh-huh 06:20, 28 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] 101.1% Nutrition

The nutritional composition of the banana adds up to 101.1%. I think some of the figures might be wrong!

Rounding errors? :P vLaDsINgEr 19:35, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
If you are talking about the nutrient table, it's not meant to be added - it's %RDI per nutrient, not total. 28% B6 means 100g of banana gives you 28% of your B6 needs for the day. WLU 01:43, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Water content of bananas?

The article as it currently stands states that bananas have a "85 percent water content" (Properties), or are alternatively "74% water" (Nutritional value and dietary effects). Unless we're talking about two different species of bananas, or they suffer from extreme seasonal variation, one of these values is incorrect. I would be inclined to lean towards the value from the nutritional section, except as previously noted its values add to 101.1%. --PJF (talk) 11:22, 23 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Pesticides

An interesting aspect of the banana's succeptibility to disease is the use of large amounts of pesticides. Perhaps the article ought to mention this?

I have heard that many growers actually tie sacks impregnated with toxins around the banana clusters and that the bananas grow inside these sacks. Also, I think bananas are sometimes treated with other toxins to prevent them from over ripening while in transit?

[edit] FAC?

What a great article - does anything think it needs much more before being nominated as a featured article candidate? -- ALoan (Talk) 12:40, 20 May 2005 (UTC)

The article still claims two different figures for water content, and while this may depend upon seasonal or cultivar factors, it is something that requires explanation. Otherwise it's a mark against the article in the accurate critera for featured articles.
The article also seems a little short in its current form. There are many different types of bananas, and unfortunately the article doesn't cover them in detail, and featured articles should be comprehensive. I think the article in its current form definitely has potential, but isn't ready for nomination just yet. --PJF (talk) 01:27, 21 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Banana Seeds

I found a good article with a photo of "seed-packed fruit of Musa balbisiana, one of the ancestors of the edible bananas." Here's the link.

http://www.apsnet.org/education/feature/banana/Top.html

Here's the link to to photo.

http://www.apsnet.org/education/feature/banana/Images/Figure4sm.jpg

I was interested to see such a picture, however, I don't know whether it would violate copyright to put this photo in the article so I'm not trying. - Jimp 23May05

Unfortunately they are copyright - it has "© Copyright 2001 by The American Phytopathological Society" at the foot of the page - MPF 3 July 2005 21:35 (UTC)

I've eaten plenty of little bananas with big hard seeds, which form three longitudinal rows. They're sold in markets in Indonesia. Kslays 03:53, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

The bananas you are speaking of are Musa Balbisiana not Musa Musaceae. These are the wild precursor to the domesticated banana, commercial, or non-commercial. Brimba 06:58, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] when bananas go bad

what about saying that bananas take a really long time to go bad? they are closest to honey in that you can eat them long after they seem to have rotten.

[edit] I find the start of the article confusing/misleading

I find the start of this article a little confusing/misleading . It says "A banana is a tree-like plant", but then the majority of the article is about the banana fruit, and not the plant.

Also, though I am no expert, I believe that all members of the Musaceae family are considered to be Banana Plants - So Ensete and Musella, as well as Musa.

I edited the first paragraph to mention the fruit. --KJ 05:27, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] leaves?

This article doesn't seem to say anything about the use of the banana leaf, and other parts of the tree? They highly used for those purposes as well, such as in...well, wrapping foods and being used to store food in them for a start. -- Natalinasmpf 20:49, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

It does now. StuRat 02:16, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] a or an

In line 1, the a/an dispute appears to have arisen from a misunderstanding: In British English, the "h" of herb is pronounced, so a herb, in the USA it's silent, so an herb. jimfbleak

Good point, I forgot about that. I have no objections to returning it to an a as is it seems the article is primarily British. --Klaser 18:39, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Extinction?!

What does this mean? -- We may see the extinction of the banana as both a lifesaver for hungry and impoverished Africans and as the most popular product on the world's supermarket shelves -- if it's extinct, how can it be popular? It will be popular because it becomes extinct? How can its extinction be a lifesaver for hungry and impoverished Africans? None of this makes sense. -- Zoe

Look at the sentence in the article again, it says "currently" where you have "as", which changes the meaning. Maybe someone changed it since you saw it. Here is another place to read about the possible disappearence of bananas, if you are curious.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2664373.stm

--Qaz

Yeah, it changed since I wrote the above, because I copied and pasted the sentence. -- Zoe

re Zoe's comment: ROFL -Sv hehe

I read about the predicted extinction about a year ago in New Scientist, and I still don't get it. Firstly, why does someone think such disease is finally going to strike at this time? Secondly, why on earth (or indeed any planet) would it wipe out the African, Asian and Latin American crops all together? -- Smjg 11:04, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

If it kills enough, there will be inadequate genetic diversity to propagate indefinitely. Even a disease that kills only half of the crops could eventually cause the extinction of the entire breed. Kent Wang 22:27, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)
If something starts killing them in one area, couldn't someone clear the field, take measures to clear the area of the disease, and then replant them from elsewhere? -- Smjg 11:10, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

The Cavendish isn't going to go extinct: the Gros Michel hasn't gone extinct, and is still grown by small plantations and hobbyists. The danger is that like the Gros Michel, it might become unsuitable for large-scale production if effective methods of combatting Race 4 aren't found. This could impact the US and Europe consumer, as the Cavendish is very well suited to growing in Central America and Africa, and the fruit is hardy enough to survive shipping.

I don't believe that the banana is going extinct. The banana trees are everywhere. I want to remove that whole section if it can't be backed up with a source. Coffee 05:30, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

It's about the potential extinction of one very popular cultivar, not the banana as a whole. But the paragraph is largely duplicating other text higher up the page (I've been meaning to deal with it but keep forgetting!) - MPF 20:13, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

This section is backwards, Black Sigatoka is mentioned first as another fungal disease . Then Tropical Race 4, then how it is a variant of Panama Disease and how Gros Michel was wiped out. I will rearrange--Maxwellian 09:25, 19 September 2005 (UTC)


[edit] suggestion

someone should include different ways to prep (prepare) bananas..or recepies...like banoffe pie.

Having just eaten a banana and biting at the skin to open it, is it worth mentioning that the skin has a disgusting taste? -- Chris 26-Sep-05 13:45 GMT



[edit] Five sides?

It has been a long-held belief among people that I know that bananas always have five sides. I can't seem to find any information about this anywhere online - is this a characteristic of the current mass-consumption bananas, or is it just another urban legend?

I think that might be right, they do have "flats", if not "sides". I'm not sure if they always have 5, but it wouldn't suprise me, especially if the flower from which the fruit grows had 5 petals. StuRat 02:06, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
Just another urban legend. Bananas, like all monocots, have tripartite flower and fruit parts; a quick look at a few bananas does show a vaguely 3-ridged shape, and the black flower scar at the end is triangular. The flesh of a banana is circular in cross-section, but readily splits lengthwise into three sections. - MPF 22:00, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Banana Growing/Harvesting

Is it worth discussing the growing/harvesting methods? http://www.papyrusaustralia.com.au/banana_details.html has a bunch of information. While we're at it, is it worth mentioning paper production using bananas? That's the only company I've seen that appears to be doing it, though. FireWorks 19:34, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Attitudes Toward Bananas

In this section you could mention that bananas are popular with athletes for restoring potassium lost from sweating excessively.

I remember reading in an old etiquette book that bananas should be peeled from the flower scar end, as to not resemble apes that do it from the stem end.

Lol, what for? To prove that your stupider then apes? The reasons why presemuably why 'apes' peel them from the stem end (if they do) is presemuably because it's easier. To do anything else, will just show your stupider then apes Nil Einne 10:47, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Why are bananas bent

This detail was added to the History section. Could anyone with (banana knowledge?) verify the text? --Bookandcoffee 19:05, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

Unfortunately, this edit was a copyright violation, so I reverted it. See [2] - Mushroom 19:35, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism

Someone has inserted a litany of abusive text into paragraph 2 and 3, needs removed ASAP. -Anon

It has been reverted -SCEhardt 02:24, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Inappropriate

Somehow some inappropriate words have been placed in the article and I cannot find them in the article's code. The words appear in bold above the article contents table.

[edit] Banana pests and diseases/ Extinction

I am working on combining “Banana pests and diseases” with “Extinction”, but it might take a few days to clarify a couple of things, after which time the whole thing should be less wordy. Thanks. Brimba 06:41, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

  • I have merged these two together, but still need to add in genetics, in-vitro production (When does a banana tree look like a bean sprout? :), and nematodes. Brimba 20:48, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
  • Nice editing job, but I notice that you removed the paragraph explaining that 'Cavendish' only makes up about 10% of world production, and that its 'extinction' would only affect world trade, not production for local consumption. Any particular reason? Assuming it's true, I think that this fact contributes a lot to the 'extinction' discussion, and would be worth reinstating. (Overall, the combination of the facts that bananas are such a huge crop and staple starch for so many people, and the fact that the viability of a leading variety is under threat, is quite alarming until you understand that the 'extinction' panic only relates to the export trade.) Robert Sinton 21:50, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
  • Good point and yes it needs to be added back in, although maybe in a wider context. Most ppl in the tropics relay upon green cooking bananas (well that’s way too broad of a statement as well); however, the Cavendish is still the main desert (yellow) banana world wide. I am going to try to put the whole thing together into some logical wording in the next couple of days. Really the bigger discussion is the genetics, almost every banana verity we have today is a clone to some degree of a plant that some farmer found thousand of years ago, and this is the Achilles heal of the domesticated banana. So the extinction issue goes far beyond just the Cavendish.

So to understand the whole thing, as I see it, you need some simple basic discussion of genetics, the process of crossing a domesticated banana variety with one of its wild cousins, and where things are headed at this time. Until you have that you leave room for both doomsayers and others who claim nothing is really amiss -the truth appears to be somewhere in-between the two. Hope my answer helps more then hurts.

In a month or two I hope to be back down at FHIA (Honduran Foundation of Agricultural Research) and bring some of their researchers to the discussion. Brimba 01:05, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Branding

Here in Australia there are banana's that are being sold that have been dipped in red wax (About 1/5th of the banana is covered). I'm pretty sure this is either a branding or location indicator (ie. grown in a particular region or by a particular grower). Is this happening elsewhere in the world? Do you think it is wiki worthy? Rissole 01:42, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

It must be verifiable to be in Wikipedea, so if you can find a source or reference (other than your own research), then it can be added to the article. It might make a striking illustration, since it is probably intended to appeal to the buyer. Walter Siegmund (talk) 04:59, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
This is what I was talking about at the time. [3] I think it's a unique way to brand fruit (as opposed to the stickers they put on everything else. But I didn't want it to be an advertisement for that particular brand.

[edit] Banana juice

I am going to cut the following text from Banana:

However unlike other fruits, bananas have only recently been used to prepare juice and squashes. Despite an 85% water content, it has historically been difficult to extract juice from the fruit because when compressed, a banana simply turns to pulp. In 2004, scientists at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India, patented a technique for extracting juice by treating banana pulp in a reaction vessel for four to six hours [1].

The 85% water is clearly wrong, and appears to be a typo from the story; “ Despite an 85 per cent water content” and “ The technique extracts about 85 per cent of the fruit's juice while the solid leftover” both appear in the text, and apparently the 85 was used twice, when it should say something like “75% water “ instead. Also the other citations talk about a two day process involving adding an enzyme to break down the pulp. Overall the article cited here varies in a number of ways from other sources.

The obvious answer would be to rewrite the text to better cover the process; however, so far no one has shown any real world interest in the process, and so it still stands as just a successful lab experiment, and hence not worth noting in an encyclopedia. Brimba 16:20, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

The fact that it is difficult to extract juice from a banana still merits mentioning. -Tim Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 17:09, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
Yes, now that you mention it that should remain. Brimba 19:12, 16 December 2005 (UTC)


Hey, is there some plagiarism on this banana page? Look at http://www.uga.edu/fruit/banana.htm .

"Latin Americans sometimes comment that the plants are "walking" over time." Exact copy. T g7 20:50, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I read a Dr Karl Kruszelnicki I think, and it said that scientist accidentally created a banana species which can be juiced after exposing it to radiation. Not 100% sure on it though, but I remember thinking that I'd never want to drink juice from a banana which has been altered through radiation. --Fir0002 www 10:03, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia: Ways to Peel a Banana

This article: http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/21/peeling_bananas_from.html makes me wonder if we should add a few lines about culture and the different ways of peeling a banana. Perhaps someone could also point out which side of the banana is the "top".

[edit] Once eaten, the leaf is used

"Once eaten, the leaf is used...": but they don't eat the leaf. Reword.

[edit] Pop Culture: Smoking

The article states that serotonin is unsuitable for smoking (due to high melting point); the issue is not trying to smoke serotonin, it's to smoke the tryptophan to let the brain create serotonin. Can someone find out if tryptophan can be successfully smoked (e.g. find the melting point of the chemical)? If it's not worth finding out, then perhaps remove the paragraph because there is no reason to state the melting point of serotonin in this article at all! 144.13.213.211 01:15, 12 April 2006 (UTC) [Anonymous Science Student]

The melting point of tryptophan is 289 °C; this is too high for it to be suitable for smoking. SCHZMO ✍ 15:55, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Banana" vs. Musa

Are "bananas" and "plantains" synonymous with the genus Musa? Or do these terms only refer to the cultivated/edible Musa species and hybrids. SCHZMO ✍ 00:44, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Banana's the forth most consumed?

Potatoes also seem to claim forth position. Which is correct?

edit: sorry, they say "fourth largest crop in terms of fresh produce" which I guess it completely different.

Does the "Banana as 4th" depend on the inclusion of plantains? If so, then the introduction should be slightly re-worded. Also, it would be better if that claim was referenced.--Malcohol 17:02, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Serotonin and bananas

It is stated under the 'Popular culture' section of this article that ingesting bananas cannot increase levels of serotonin in the blood. However, R. Xiao et al (1998) "On the accurate measurement of serotonin in whole blood" Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest. 58: 505-510 find that "single and repeated ingestion of bananas, which are rich in 5-HT(serotonin), elevated 5-HT in whole blood, indicating dietary influences on platelet 5-HT". I suggest that the article is updated accordingly. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.11.76.229 (talk • contribs) 10:35, 1 June 2006.

Thank you for your suggestion regarding banana! When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make whatever changes you feel are needed. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the Edit this page link at the top. You don't even need to log in! (Although there are some reasons why you might like to…) The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes—they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. Walter Siegmund (talk) 14:24, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sweeter and sweeter

Why do bananas get sweeter the longer they have been ripened? --Abdull 18:25, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

All fruits get sweeter as the carbohydrates break down to simple sugars - ripening and rotting are different stages of the same degenerative process. jimfbleak 05:26, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Picking Bananas

The song "Mr. Tallyman" implies that bananas are picked at night ... 'Daylight come and I want to go home' (http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Banana_Boat_Song.htm). Is it true? A trivial matter, to be sure, and probably common knowledge in the growing regions, but I have not been able to find a definitive answer to this question. JiHymas@himivest.com 15:21, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

You can harvest at night, (you'll need a light!)But seriously,bananas are cut during the day for sure. We grow them!

[edit] Nutrition info from a Dole banana

(partial in german, translate later) per 100g

brennwert 387kJ/92,37 kcal
protein 0,85g
carbonhydrate 23,73g
fat 0,85g
ballaststoffe 2,54g
natrium 1mg
cholesterin 0mg
water 74%
_minerals_ (in mg) 
Calcium 5,93
Fe 0
Zink 0
mangan 0
Kalium 395,76
magnesium 28,81
phosphor 20,34
_vitaines (in mg)_
A 7,63
Vit. A is probably in micrograms Han-Kwang 13:39, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
E 0
C 9,32
Thiamin 0,085
Riboflavin 0,085
Niacin 0,85
B6 0,59
Folsäure 19,49 mikrogram

Tobias Conradi (Talk) 12:09, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

The data seems to agree well with the data in the nutritional value box I put into the article. I chose to not include every trace element, but only the ones for which this fruit is a major source. For that I use the RDA percentages. If eating 10000 kJ of a product (or 300 g if it is a low-calorie product) doesn't provide you with much more than 100% of the RDA, I don't include it, unless the article text makes specific claims. Extensive data can be found at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ . Feel free to add more data, though. See Template:Nutritionalvalue for a list of nutrients that are recognized. Han-Kwang 13:39, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Error in page

The article states that "The banana is mentioned for the first time in written history in Buddhist texts in 600 BC." The Buddha is thought to have lived in the sixth or fifth centuries BC, so the date is obviously wrong. Eduardo Cuellar 09:55, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ripeness query

My father tells me that in Jamaica they leave the bananas till they go brown before eating them. I must say, they taste much sweeter and have a good texture if you leave them. Is there any truth to this claim? -- Boothman /tɔːk/ 17:40, 8 August 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Derivation of the word banana

Somebody keeps posting the totally inaccurate claim that the word banana is derived from the Arabic banan, meaning finger. In fact, the word is of West African origin. There's no scholarly debate about this whatsoever. Any source you check (for instance, this one [4]) will explain that to you.

I can't weigh in one way or the other, but I wouldn't consider an online dictionary to be a very authoritative scholarly reference. In fact I tried doing some websearches and found that there are indeed some published scholarly claims that the word banana is derived from the Arabic "banan" (for example here). Etymological myth? Arabocentrism? I have no idea but note also that the two etymologies are not necessarily mutually exclusive; Africa and Arabia are in close proximity and both African and Arabic words for "banana" could be derived from the same ancient root (and since cultivated bananas probably originated in Asia rather than Africa, it's possible that the etymology is neither African nor Arabic). At the very least, the text of the article should reflect any scholarly uncertainty or disagreement that exists. MrDarwin 15:11, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
My Chambers dictionary says West Africa through Portuguses or Spanish, Arabic looks like a red herring based on a word similarity. jimfbleak 16:32, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

My Shorter Oxford Dictionary states that the work derives from the Spanish and Portugese, in turn from the Mande, a large group of peoples from West Africa.

I've removed the latest claim of an Arabic origin of the word. This may very well be true, but I have not been able to confirm it in the literature, and have found several references (none as reliable as I would like, or I would cite them) that the word has an African origin. Both sides should probably be represented, but citations for the claims are necessary for both claims. MrDarwin 18:44, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Flower

Is this a banana flower? If so, please put it in the article and add any info you can give to the photo page. Thanks. DirkvdM 18:05, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

That is Strelitzia reginae, otherwise known as "Bird of Paradise." Intelligence3 23:17, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Phallic Symbol

I changed the passage indicating the humorous use of the banana as a phallic symbol "because of similarities in size and shape." The author misunderstood the meaning of the word "phallic symbol" --

[edit] 50% human

there is evidence to prove that Homo sapiens share 50% of our DNA as a banana, i read it on a biology poster for uni, i cannot add this to the article with no proof and it is an interesting fact but i dont even know weither it should be added. so... cj105 20, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I think it was probably a joke. You can probably take many different plants and animals and match 50%. Check this page for example http://www.thingsyoudontneedtoknow.com/dnabananas.htmlMapetite526 19:06, 13 September 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Shine your shoes

Hey guys, it is true that you can use a banana peel to very effectivly shine your shoes (as demonstrated by this GIF I made). If we have a section on Smoking Banana Peels then, we can merge it all into a section called "Parctical Uses for Banana peels" because shining your shoes with a peel works very well and is an important aspect.

The article in shoe polish just links back to here!

Dfrg.msc 1 . 2 . 3 01:51, 20 September 2006 (UTC)


WoW never new this one. This is cool!

Amazing, the floor is shinier too!

Thats coz the bloody flash whent off. Dfrg.msc 1 . 2 . Editor Review

Yeah, this video is cute and all... but it doesn't seem authentic because the entire picture is clearer and shinier in the "after" shot. This should be taken down. -Laikalynx 18:36, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vitamin content

"Bananas are a valuable source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, ..."

Bananas have 9mg of Vitmain C per 100g [5]. Oranges have 50mg. So how can it be claimed that Bananas are "a valuable source of ... Vitamin C" given their inferiority to oranges? Also, note how small 9mg is compared to the recommended daily dietary intake of Vitamin C.

Actually it's 15% which is small by no means. In any case, I thof ink you might be missing the point. Remember that banana's are a staple food crop and a very important one to many people. We can presume that it's far more likely someone from many developing countries will be able to eat 200g banana then even 25g of oranges... I would say it's rather likely that for many people the banana is a valuable source of vitamin C Nil Einne 11:13, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Banana in food production

at the beginning of the article is written that banana is the fourth most produced food in the world but it is not present in the [food production's chart]

[edit] Reference to Panama as a Banana Republic

This article states that "from a strict economic perspective only Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama were actual "banana republics", countries with economies dominated by the banana trade."

I respectfully disagree about Panama being a country who's economy was dominated by the banana trade. Panama's economy has historically been service oriented and most GDP is produced in the Panama City - Colón corridor (essentially, the areas which are near the Panama canal).

Bananas in Panama were only grown in westernmost Panama (Westernmost Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean and westernmost Chiriquí on the Pacific side), with very little incidence for the rest of the country (Bocas del Toro historically was a region which was dominated by the banana trade, but Chiriquí certainly was not).

I request that the reference to Panama as a country whose economy was/is dominated by the banana trade be struck off.


[edit] GA Re-Review and In-line citations

Members of the Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles are in the process of doing a re-review of current Good Article listings to ensure compliance with the standards of the Good Article Criteria. (Discussion of the changes and re-review can be found here). A significant change to the GA criteria is the mandatory use of some sort of in-line citation (In accordance to WP:CITE) to be used in order for an article to pass the verification and reference criteria. Currently this article does not include in-line citations. It is recommended that the article's editors take a look at the inclusion of in-line citations as well as how the article stacks up against the rest of the Good Article criteria. GA reviewers will give you at least a week's time from the date of this notice to work on the in-line citations before doing a full re-review and deciding if the article still merits being considered a Good Article or would need to be de-listed. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us on the Good Article project talk page or you may contact me personally. On behalf of the Good Articles Project, I want to thank you for all the time and effort that you have put into working on this article and improving the overall quality of the Wikipedia project. --- The Bethling(Talk) 23:25, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Constipation cause or cure?

Can anyone point to studies that show with any certainty whether bananas cause, or cure, constipation? Or diarrhea? I'm tired of getting conflicting reports from all over the Net (and arguing with my wife about it). It's time Wikipedia gave us the answer! --Dennitzio 20:40, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

I second the motion. You beat me to it actually. My mother swears by them for keeping Dad regular and my toddler's pediatrician says that my constipated toddler should avoid them. Hal, runregistered. 7Dec06

[edit] Banana Flower?

Does a banana tree produce a flower? If so, what does it look like? Wikipedia should at LEAST mention banana flowers somwhere in the article.

We grow cavendish bananas in the Philippines and can easily provide many photos of banana flowers. Not sure how to post them!

[edit] Vandalism

We have some graffiti in the entry again. One line in the section on domestication and several more near the end of the article.

[edit] Good Article Review

Good article Review this article will soon be reviewed for delisting from Good Article status. Please look at the Good Article Criteria and try and improve the article to meet those - the criteria I'm particularly concerned about is 2a and 2b. - Malkinann 07:58, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Plantain

Should plantain be added to "see also?"

I see no real reason why not. Go ahead and be bold by editing it in. :)  E. Sn0 =31337= Talk 22:25, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fourth largest crop?

The article states that "Globally, bananas rank fourth after rice, wheat and maize in human consumption". Under the potato article it is stated the potatoes are the "fourth largest crop in terms of fresh produce". What's correct? Or am I missing something?

--User:kjellesvig 01:15, 22 December 2006 (GMT +1)

[edit] Good Article Review

The Good Article review on this article has ended, and in a four to zero vote, this article has been delisted, for various problems with the referencing. Dispute archived here: Wikipedia:Good articles/Disputes/Archive 11. Homestarmy 17:40, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] banana-like fruit

I reverted unsourced last edit because plantain is not a misnomer. The meaning is clear in English. I suspect that the editor meant that it meant something different in an unspecified other language, but this is unclear. Jimfbleak.talk.16:17, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bananas float!

It should really be mentioned somewhere that bananas float when placed in water. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.206.196.34 (talk) 02:16, 9 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] What's going on?

The introduction could use some help, vis-a-vis parentheses and the overuse thereof. However, I find myself unable to edit the article. Indeed, the "edit" tab has disappeared. This article is not protected, or doesn't seem to be; why can't I edit? DrExtreme 03:42, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Never mind: I see it IS protected. DrExtreme 03:44, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Banana As Racial Insult

If we must include a notation that "banana" is used as a slang or derogatory comment, it should be noted that this is not a generally Asian phenomenon as much as it is specific to Asian-Americans in the United States. 75.6.194.91

[edit] India introduced banana to the world

India introduced banana to the world. Alexander the Great discovers the taste of the banana in the Indian valleys in 327 BC . In 650 AD, Islamic conquerors brought the banana back to Palestine. The Arabic merchants finally spread the bananas all over Africa. Only in 1502 the Portuguese start the first banana plantation in the Caribbean and in central America.

The banana has been cultivated in India for at least 4,000 years. Banana has been recorded in many hindu scripts. Likewise, China’s historians mention banana cultivation as early as 200 A.D. However, the spread of bananas to Africa was much more important. They probably arrived in Madagascar, and then made their way to the mainland. This influx of bananas to Africa led to further spread by vegetative propagation. In Africa, as well as in India, several mutations occurred, producing different varieties of banana. From Africa, the banana made its way to the Canary Islands. Several of the varieties from the Canary Islands were brought to Central America and the Caribbean with explorers and Spanish missionaries.

The banana began its history as a world-wide commodity only in the past century and a half. While bananas were brought to the Americas early in explorations and by missionaries, it was not until the mid-1800s that they were really introduced to the United States, and then only as an exotic desert. From there, the banana’s popularity grew and became a staple fruit with many uses beyond desert. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 131.107.0.73 (talk) 22:53, 23 February 2007 (UTC).64.184.29.114 23:02, 5 April 2007 (UTC)me...who else??64.184.29.114 23:02, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

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