Bananas (Musa spp.) Are relatively strange-looking fruit that grow on even odder plants. Though bushy in appearance, banana plants aren’t shrubs, but they are also not trees. To make matters more confusing, there’s a plant called a banana shrub (Michelia figo). The bananas you consume are grown on crops that grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9b during 11.
About Shrubs
Shrubs are generally considered perennial plants that have woody stems or trunks and grow to a last height of less than 13 feet. Stems on shrubs are narrow, usually less than 3 inches in diameter, but the major back could be thicker than that.
Banana Plants
There are numerous explanations for why bananas cannot be classified as shrubs. The most obvious is that bananas aren’t woody. They’re leafy using a pseudostem instead of a woody trunk, which a shrub could have. The real stem of a banana grows up through the center of the pseudostem to afterwards produce the flower and fruit of the plant. The root systems also differ. Unlike the root system commonly found with shrubs, bananas grow from rhizomes underground that spread in the exact same manner as several running grasses. Banana plants are also too tall to match the definition of a shrub. While dwarf varieties reach just 6 ft, standard banana plants can tower to a height of 30 feet. A banana plant is classified as a diuretic.
Banana Shrub
The banana shrub may confuse you into believing that it produces bananas or is a part of the banana family, but this plant, that grows in USDA zones 8 through 11, isn’t associated with bananas. It’s a part of the Magnolia family. The title of the shrub comes in the odor of its magnolialike flowersthat have a strong odor like bananas along with a shade reminiscent of ripe bananas. In general, this bush is little compared to banana plants. The shrub grows up to 10 feet tall and broad, but this growth occurs slowly. While the banana shrub does produce fruit, these aren’t bananas.
Fruits Compared
Bananas and also the fruit out of a banana shrub are completely distinct. Botanically, bananas have been berries that grow in clusters, called hands. These fingers have many elongated fruits on them. They’re edible when green but taste best if cooked in that condition. Yellow bananas are those you’re knowledgeable about. Despite the title and scent of the banana shrub, the small brown fruit that measure less than 1/2 inch aren’t edible.