Banana

Musa sapientum; pisang. Bananas imported into Europe are virtually all of one race, the Gros Michel. Bananas in Indonesia are of about forty races, from small golden yellow ones to large pale ones. They are eaten raw, boiled, fried, candied, or sliced and dried in the sun, as appropriate. The banana tree is a very large, fast-growing herb, and lives only for one year, producing long glossy leaves that are quickly shredded to ribbons by the wind, and a single large purple flower. Young leaves, having very tough fibres, are used as wrapping materials. The heart-shaped flower, jantung pisang, is cooked and eaten as a vegetable.