SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

highway 680 - pleasanton, california

The setting sun gives some interesting colours to the white travertine at Pamukkale..

 

You can learn more about the formation of Turkey's cotton castle on my blog Seeking Science in Turkey

 

When I'm not watching the sun set in Turkey, you can you can find me on Twitter

  

The Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix -- My place of work.

On the walls of the Basilica San Vitale are two mosaic panels (completed in 547 AD) which portray a contemporary portrait of Justinian and his court.

 

I talk about Justinian in part 6 of my blog Seeking Science along the Adriatic Coast . Visiting this UNESCO World Heritage Site was very high on my list.

 

When I'm not Seeking Science or looking for signs of Justinian, you can find me on Twitter

 

I dreamed about visiting Plitvice Lakes since I first saw pictures on Flickr several years ago. This was a huge thrill for me to actually get there. Some bad luck, it was the only day of heavy rain during my entire trip. Still, we hiked the 18 km pathways, camera in one hand and umbrella in the other.

 

I have written in detail about the science of Plitvice Lakes in part 4 of my blog Seeking Science along the Adriatic Coast .

 

When I'm not in awe of these lakes, you can find me on Twitter

Midas Cichlid ~ Deep Sea World ~ North Queensferry, Scotland ~ Friday August 22nd 2014.

 

 

Click here to see My most interesting images

 

Purchase some of my images here ~ www.saatchionline.com/art/view/artist/24360/art/1259239 ~ Should you so desire...go on, make me rich..lol...Oh...and if you see any of the images in my stream that you would like and are not there, then let me know and I'll add them to the site for you..:))

 

You can also buy my WWT cards here (The Otter and the Sunset images) or in the shop at the Wetland Centre in Barnes ~ London ~ www.wwt.org.uk/shop/shop/wwt-greeting-cards/sunset-at-the...

 

Amphilophus citrinellus ~ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ~ Amphilophus citrinellus is a large cichlid fish endemic to the San Juan River and adjacent watersheds in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In the aquarium trade A. citrinellus is often sold under the trade name of Midas cichlid. A. citrinellus are omnivorous and their diet consists of plant material, molluscs and smaller fish. The species is closely related to but not to be mistaken as Amphilophus labiatus.Physical characteristics ~ Midas Cichlids are heavily built and are capable of standing up to any other aquarium-sized cichlid in fights over territory. They have powerful jaws, sharp teeth and a physical size advantage in comparison to other aquarium species. Therefore, the aggressivity of Midas cichlids should not be underestimated and co-habitants should be chosen carefully in an aquarium setting.

 

Taxonomic status ~ Considerable debate over the taxonomic status of A. citrinellus began soon after the discovery of this species in the nineteenth century and continued throughout the twentieth century. A multivariate approach to treatment of anatomical characters has facilitated the discrimination among very similarly shaped species, aided by behavioral and ecological evidence. Multiple species of this group have been identified and verified by genomic and mitochondrial DNA evidence in volcanic crater lakes Apoyo (see Apoyo Lagoon Natural Reserve) and Xiloa. The genetic evidence from Apoyo supports a hypothesis that the six known species of the lake evolved via sympatric speciation. A few to perhaps several dozen species fitting the biological species concept are considered to exist among what has historically been called A. citrinellus, the great majority of which have not been described to date. The nine most recently described members of this species complex are considered endemic to their respective small, volcanic crater lakes.

 

Colouration in wild stocks is variable, with most specimens grey to olive brown with a characteristic pattern of black dorsolateral bars, some pink, white, yellow or orange specimens do occur. These brightly colored forms, often called "golds", exist in nature at varying frequencies throughout the range of the species group. Colorations and morphological characters (e.g. accentuated nuchal humps) seen in the hobbyist trade are the product of selective breeding for several generations and may not be reflected in the wild.

 

The Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni, Malay: harimau belang) is a subspecies of tiger found in the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula.[2] Until 2004, it was not considered a subspecies in its own right. The new classification came about after a study by S. J. Luo et al. from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, part of the United States National Cancer Institute.

 

Recent counts showed there are 600–800 Malayan tigers in the wild, making it the most common tiger subspecies other than the Bengal and perhaps also the Indochinese tigers. It is nevertheless an endangered subspecies.

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

Carl Icahn Laboratory, Princeton

www.fluidr.com/ Today's Explorer Jan 16 2012 #203

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

This picture was taken in Brokopondo, at the Bergendal Resort. A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

Princeton University

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

Dr. Jennifer Doudna stands at the intersection of biology and history, a scientist whose discoveries have irrevocably altered the course of human understanding. Her pioneering work on CRISPR gene editing has not only transformed molecular biology but has also raised profound ethical and philosophical questions about the very fabric of life. A Nobel laureate, she navigates these frontiers with both precision and an acute awareness of the weight of her discoveries. Her scientific vision is tempered by an almost preternatural sense of responsibility.

 

I photographed Doudna twice. The first time was on July 7, 2021, at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world outside was shrouded in fog, a thick marine layer that wrapped around Berkeley’s hills, rendering everything indistinct and softened. Inside, the normally bustling institute was eerily quiet. There were no students gathering in the hallways, no hurried footsteps of researchers moving between lab stations. It was a fitting setting for a scientist whose work feels as though it has emerged from the mist of scientific uncertainty to reveal something dazzlingly clear.

 

In that empty space, Doudna’s presence was striking. She moved with the quiet intensity of someone accustomed to deep thought, her mind constantly engaged in the grand puzzle of molecular biology. The discovery she had helped bring to light, CRISPR-Cas9, had given scientists an unprecedented ability to edit genes with ease and precision. For the first time in human history, we had the capacity to rewrite the very code of life. With CRISPR, the genome was no longer a fixed text but an editable manuscript, full of potential revisions and possibilities.

 

The implications were staggering. Within just a few years, researchers had already begun using CRISPR to correct genetic diseases in animal models, paving the way for future human therapies. In agriculture, scientists were engineering crops resistant to drought and disease, potentially revolutionizing global food security. Yet for all its promise, CRISPR was also a technology fraught with ethical and societal concerns. The ability to alter DNA brought with it the specter of unintended consequences: off-target effects, genetic inequalities, and the possibility of enhancement rather than just therapy.

 

Doudna was acutely aware of these challenges. She has often spoken of the moment when, after her team’s initial breakthroughs, she awoke from a dream in which someone had asked her to explain CRISPR to Adolf Hitler. The dream unsettled her—not because the science was flawed, but because its power could so easily be misused. Unlike many scientists, she did not shy away from this realization. Instead, she became one of the most vocal advocates for ethical guidelines and called for global discussions on how gene editing should be regulated.

 

The second time I photographed her was at her home. It was a more personal setting, where she stood alongside her husband, biochemist Jamie Cate. This session would result in her official Nobel portrait, an image meant to capture not only the scientist but the thinker—the human being at the center of one of biology’s most consequential breakthroughs. In this environment, away from the sterility of the lab, Doudna was quick to smile, yet just as quick to consider the larger implications of her work. CRISPR, in her mind, was not simply a tool of innovation. It was a force that demanded careful stewardship.

 

Few scientists can move so effortlessly between the precise world of molecular biology and the broad, messy conversations of bioethics, governance, and human destiny. But Doudna is one of them. She understands that the future of gene editing is not simply about what science can achieve, but about what it should achieve. This balance between the limitless potential of discovery and the necessity of caution defines her approach.

 

Even as CRISPR is being explored as a treatment for sickle cell disease, blindness, and certain cancers, she remains focused on ensuring that this technology does not outpace our ability to control it. She has advocated for a moratorium on heritable human genome editing, recognizing that the decision to alter the genetic blueprint of future generations is one that cannot be made lightly. The world may be racing toward a new era of genetic medicine. But if Doudna has her way, it will not be reckless.

 

Her legacy is still unfolding, but one truth is already apparent. The world she is shaping will look very different from the one she inherited. And as science advances, her voice will remain one of its most thoughtful, deliberate, and necessary guides. She is a scientist of precision, yes. But more importantly, she is a scientist of conscience.

I photographed Doudna twice—first on July 7, 2021, at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world outside was shrouded in fog, a thick marine layer that wrapped around Berkeley’s hills, rendering everything indistinct and softened. Inside, the normally bustling institute was eerily quiet. There were no students gathering in the hallways, no hurried footsteps of researchers moving between lab stations. It was a fitting setting for a scientist whose work feels as though it has emerged from the mist of scientific uncertainty to reveal something dazzlingly clear.

 

In that empty space, Doudna’s presence was striking. She moved with the quiet intensity of someone accustomed to deep thought, her mind constantly engaged in the grand puzzle of molecular biology. The discovery she had helped bring to light—CRISPR-Cas9—had given scientists an unprecedented ability to edit genes with ease and precision, a technique that, for the first time in human history, allowed us to rewrite the very code of life. With CRISPR, the genome was no longer a fixed text but an editable manuscript, full of potential revisions and possibilities.

The implications were staggering. Within just a few years, researchers had already begun using CRISPR to correct genetic diseases in animal models, paving the way for future human therapies. In agriculture, scientists were engineering crops resistant to drought and disease, potentially revolutionizing global food security. Yet for all its promise, CRISPR was also a technology fraught with ethical and societal concerns. The ability to alter DNA brought with it the specter of unintended consequences—off-target effects, genetic inequalities, the possibility of enhancement rather than just therapy.

 

Doudna was acutely aware of these challenges. She has often spoken of the moment when, after her team’s initial breakthroughs, she awoke from a dream in which someone had asked her to explain CRISPR to Adolf Hitler. The dream unsettled her—not because the science was flawed, but because its power could so easily be misused. Unlike many scientists, she did not shy away from this realization. Instead, she became one of the most vocal advocates for ethical guidelines, calling for global discussions on how gene editing should be regulated.

The second time I photographed her was at her home—a more personal setting where she stood alongside her husband, biochemist Jamie Cate. This session would result in her official Nobel portrait, an image meant to capture not only the scientist but the thinker, the human being at the center of one of biology’s most consequential breakthroughs. In this environment, away from the sterility of the lab, Doudna was quick to smile, yet just as quick to consider the larger implications of her work. CRISPR, in her mind, was not simply a tool of innovation; it was a force that demanded careful stewardship.

 

Few scientists can move so effortlessly between the precise world of molecular biology and the broad, messy conversations of bioethics, governance, and human destiny. But Doudna is one of them. She understands that the future of gene editing is not simply about what science can achieve, but about what it should achieve. This balance—between the limitless potential of discovery and the necessity of caution—defines her approach.

Even as CRISPR is being explored as a treatment for sickle cell disease, blindness, and certain cancers, she remains focused on ensuring that this technology does not outpace our ability to control it. She has advocated for a moratorium on heritable human genome editing, recognizing that the decision to alter the genetic blueprint of future generations is one that cannot be made lightly. The world may be racing toward a new era of genetic medicine, but if Doudna has her way, it will not be reckless.

 

Her legacy is still unfolding, but one truth is already apparent: the world she is shaping will look very different from the one she inherited. And as science advances, her voice will remain one of its most thoughtful, deliberate, and necessary guides. She is a scientist of precision, yes—but more importantly, she is a scientist of conscience.

 

Dr. Jennifer Doudna stands at the intersection of biology and history, a scientist whose discoveries have irrevocably altered the course of human understanding. Her pioneering work on CRISPR gene editing has not only transformed molecular biology but has also raised profound ethical and philosophical questions about the very fabric of life. A Nobel laureate, she navigates these frontiers with both precision and an acute awareness of the weight of her discoveries. Her scientific vision is tempered by an almost preternatural sense of responsibility.

 

I photographed Doudna twice. The first time was on July 7, 2021, at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world outside was shrouded in fog, a thick marine layer that wrapped around Berkeley’s hills, rendering everything indistinct and softened. Inside, the normally bustling institute was eerily quiet. There were no students gathering in the hallways, no hurried footsteps of researchers moving between lab stations. It was a fitting setting for a scientist whose work feels as though it has emerged from the mist of scientific uncertainty to reveal something dazzlingly clear.

 

In that empty space, Doudna’s presence was striking. She moved with the quiet intensity of someone accustomed to deep thought, her mind constantly engaged in the grand puzzle of molecular biology. The discovery she had helped bring to light, CRISPR-Cas9, had given scientists an unprecedented ability to edit genes with ease and precision. For the first time in human history, we had the capacity to rewrite the very code of life. With CRISPR, the genome was no longer a fixed text but an editable manuscript, full of potential revisions and possibilities.

 

The implications were staggering. Within just a few years, researchers had already begun using CRISPR to correct genetic diseases in animal models, paving the way for future human therapies. In agriculture, scientists were engineering crops resistant to drought and disease, potentially revolutionizing global food security. Yet for all its promise, CRISPR was also a technology fraught with ethical and societal concerns. The ability to alter DNA brought with it the specter of unintended consequences: off-target effects, genetic inequalities, and the possibility of enhancement rather than just therapy.

 

Doudna was acutely aware of these challenges. She has often spoken of the moment when, after her team’s initial breakthroughs, she awoke from a dream in which someone had asked her to explain CRISPR to Adolf Hitler. The dream unsettled her—not because the science was flawed, but because its power could so easily be misused. Unlike many scientists, she did not shy away from this realization. Instead, she became one of the most vocal advocates for ethical guidelines and called for global discussions on how gene editing should be regulated.

 

The second time I photographed her was at her home. It was a more personal setting, where she stood alongside her husband, biochemist Jamie Cate. This session would result in her official Nobel portrait, an image meant to capture not only the scientist but the thinker—the human being at the center of one of biology’s most consequential breakthroughs. In this environment, away from the sterility of the lab, Doudna was quick to smile, yet just as quick to consider the larger implications of her work. CRISPR, in her mind, was not simply a tool of innovation. It was a force that demanded careful stewardship.

 

Few scientists can move so effortlessly between the precise world of molecular biology and the broad, messy conversations of bioethics, governance, and human destiny. But Doudna is one of them. She understands that the future of gene editing is not simply about what science can achieve, but about what it should achieve. This balance between the limitless potential of discovery and the necessity of caution defines her approach.

 

Even as CRISPR is being explored as a treatment for sickle cell disease, blindness, and certain cancers, she remains focused on ensuring that this technology does not outpace our ability to control it. She has advocated for a moratorium on heritable human genome editing, recognizing that the decision to alter the genetic blueprint of future generations is one that cannot be made lightly. The world may be racing toward a new era of genetic medicine. But if Doudna has her way, it will not be reckless.

 

Her legacy is still unfolding, but one truth is already apparent. The world she is shaping will look very different from the one she inherited. And as science advances, her voice will remain one of its most thoughtful, deliberate, and necessary guides. She is a scientist of precision, yes. But more importantly, she is a scientist of conscience.

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

Center for Genomic Regulation (C.R.G.), Doctor Aiguader Street, Barcelona.

 

Arquitectura contemporània / Contemporary Architecture

  

A biomedical and genomics research centre based in Barcelona. Most of its facilities and laboratories are located in the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, in front of Somorrostro beach.

 

SN/NC: Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family & Triplaris Melaenodendron, Polygonaceae Family

Two famous trees of this country. The world known banana and the mulato, a tree with its incredible vivid salmon coloured flowers. Picture taken around Apastepeque Lake,

 

2 produtos conhecidos de El Salvador, un palo de banano y un palo de multado, casi lado a lado, enmarcando la carretera de tierra q accede a la Laguna de Apastepeque, San Vicente.

 

Mulato, uma madeira q floresce no começo do ano em EL Salvador e uma bananeira, quase sempre presente em todo lugar neste país centro-americano.

 

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

On October 30, 2018, Governor Charlie Baker joined Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI) officials, Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, and state and local leaders, to celebrate the ribbon cutting of GMGI’s new facility located on Gloucester’s inner harbor to advance marine biotechnology research and expand the regional economy. This is the world’s first dedicated marine genomics research institute.

 

(Photographs by Josephine Pettigrew, Office of the Governor)

You can learn more about these Miocene aged cliffs of Ancona in part 6 of my blog Seeking Science along the Adriatic Coast .

 

When I'm not walking the Passetto, you can find me on Twitter

 

The Human Genome Project Timeline contains major milestones in genomics from 1865 to 2003. More: www.genome.gov/11007569.

 

Credit: Darryl Leja, NHGRI.

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

A study by Johns Hopkins scientists reveals the genomic information they found after comparing sun-exposed and sun-protected skin in younger and older individuals, and how skin changes with sun exposure and aging. The results -understanding the relationship between skin cancer, sun exposure and aging - will perhaps eventually enable scientists and clinicians to target the cellular pathways causing skin cancer and create new therapies. Credit: Ernesto del Aguila III, NHGRI.

Buses are lined up on the Stephen Avenue Mall to take the students back to school after Canada's first National Geographic Live Student Matinee. Calgary's city hall shines in the background.

 

I took this photo to use on my blog about the event.

  

You can find me on Twitter too!

Iceland is well-suited for genomics research for a few reasons. The island's relative isolation has resulted in a population of approximately 320,000 that is almost entirely descended from a single family tree. Data about the population's genealogy has been extensively recorded since 740 AD, and sits in an accessible database called Íslendingabók or book of Icelanders. In population genomics, this is called the founder effect, in which the lack of diversity limits the number of genomic variants (differences between people), and allows usually rare variants to become common enough in the population to be more easily noticed and studied.

 

Credit: Ernesto del Aguila III, NHGRI.

Prompted by the bounty of genomic data and the latest technologies for data generation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a new Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) policy that safeguards research participants and facilitates biomedical discovery. The new policy, issued on August 27, 2014, is aimed at maximizing the public benefit of federally-funded research.

 

Credit: Darryl Leja, NHGRI.

...of Los Altos. (sing-along)

 

Hosting a Future visit from Baroness Nicola Blackwood and the CEO of Genomics England. They have done whole genome sequencing for 200,000 people are are about to do the same for newborn babies, to find rare genetic diseases in time to address them.

SN/NC: Musa acuminata, Syn. Musa Paradisiaca, Musaceae Family

 

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be 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 starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, Musa sapientum, is no longer used. Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2017 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 38% of total production. Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the binary distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa, such as the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), the pink banana (Musa velutina), and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, such as the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are in the banana family, Musaceae.

 

Een banaan is een langwerpige, eetbare vrucht - botanisch een bes - geproduceerd door verschillende soorten grote kruidachtige bloeiende planten in het geslacht Musa. In sommige landen kunnen bananen die voor het koken worden gebruikt "plantains" worden genoemd, waarmee ze zich onderscheiden van dessertbananen. De vrucht is variabel in grootte, kleur en stevigheid, maar is meestal langwerpig en gebogen, met zacht vruchtvlees dat rijk is aan zetmeel en bedekt is met een schil, die groen, geel, rood, paars of bruin kan zijn als ze rijp zijn. De vruchten groeien in trossen die aan de bovenkant van de plant hangen. Bijna alle moderne eetbare pitloze (parthenocarp) bananen zijn afkomstig van twee wilde soorten: Musa acuminata en Musa balbisiana. De wetenschappelijke namen van de meeste gecultiveerde bananen zijn Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana en Musa × paradisiaca voor de hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, afhankelijk van hun genomische constitutie. De oude wetenschappelijke naam voor deze hybride, Musa sapientum, wordt niet meer gebruikt. Musa-soorten zijn inheems in het tropische Indomalaya en Australië, en zijn waarschijnlijk voor het eerst gedomesticeerd in Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea. Ze worden in 135 landen verbouwd, voornamelijk voor hun fruit, en in mindere mate om vezels, bananenwijn en bananenbier te maken en als sierplant. De grootste bananenproducenten ter wereld in 2017 waren India en China, die samen goed waren voor ongeveer 38% van de totale productie.

 

A banana é uma fruta comestível alongada - botanicamente uma baga - produzida por vários tipos de grandes plantas com flores herbáceas do gênero Musa. Em alguns países, as bananas usadas para cozinhar podem ser chamadas de "bananas", o que as distingue das bananas de sobremesa. O fruto é variável em tamanho, cor e firmeza, mas geralmente é alongado e curvo, com polpa macia rica em amido coberta por uma casca que pode ser verde, amarela, vermelha, roxa ou marrom quando madura. Os frutos crescem em cachos pendurados no topo da planta. Quase todas as bananas modernas comestíveis sem sementes (partenocarpo) vêm de duas espécies selvagens - Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. Os nomes científicos da maioria das bananas cultivadas são Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca para o híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependendo de sua constituição genômica. O antigo nome científico desse híbrido, Musa sapientum, não é mais usado. As espécies de Musa são nativas da Indomalaya tropical e da Austrália, e provavelmente foram domesticadas pela primeira vez na Papua-Nova Guiné. Eles são cultivados em 135 países, principalmente por suas frutas e, em menor grau, para fazer fibra, vinho de banana e cerveja de banana e como plantas ornamentais. Os maiores produtores mundiais de bananas em 2017 foram a Índia e a China, que juntos responderam por aproximadamente 38% da produção total.

 

Un plátano (Cambur o banano en Venezuela) es una fruta comestible alargada, botánicamente una baya, producida por varios tipos de grandes plantas herbáceas con flores del género Musa. En algunos países, los plátanos utilizados para cocinar pueden llamarse "plátanos", distinguiéndolos de los plátanos de postre. La fruta es variable en tamaño, color y firmeza, pero generalmente es alargada y curva, con pulpa blanda rica en almidón cubierta con una cáscara que puede ser verde, amarilla, roja, violeta o marrón cuando está madura. Los frutos crecen en racimos que cuelgan de la parte superior de la planta. Casi todos los plátanos comestibles sin semillas (partenocarpio) modernos provienen de dos especies silvestres: Musa acuminata y Musa balbisiana. Los nombres científicos de la mayoría de los bananos cultivados son Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana y Musa × paradisiaca para el híbrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, dependiendo de su constitución genómica. El antiguo nombre científico de este híbrido, Musa sapientum, ya no se usa. Las especies de Musa son nativas de las zonas tropicales de Indomalaya y Australia, y es probable que hayan sido domesticadas por primera vez en Papua Nueva Guinea. Se cultivan en 135 países, principalmente por su fruta, y en menor medida para producir fibra, vino de plátano y cerveza de plátano y como plantas ornamentales. Los mayores productores mundiales de banano en 2017 fueron India y China, que juntos representaron aproximadamente el 38% de la producción total.

 

Une banane est un fruit comestible allongé - botaniquement une baie - produit par plusieurs sortes de grandes plantes à fleurs herbacées du genre Musa. Dans certains pays, les bananes utilisées pour la cuisson peuvent être appelées « plantains », ce qui les distingue des bananes dessert. Le fruit est de taille, de couleur et de fermeté variables, mais il est généralement allongé et incurvé, avec une chair molle riche en amidon recouverte d'une croûte qui peut être verte, jaune, rouge, violette ou brune à maturité. Les fruits poussent en grappes suspendues au sommet de la plante. Presque toutes les bananes comestibles modernes sans pépins (parthénocarpe) proviennent de deux espèces sauvages : Musa acuminata et Musa balbisiana. Les noms scientifiques de la plupart des bananiers cultivés sont Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana et Musa × paradisiaca pour l'hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, en fonction de leur constitution génomique. L'ancien nom scientifique de cet hybride, Musa sapientum, n'est plus utilisé. Les espèces de Musa sont originaires de l'Indomalaya tropicale et de l'Australie et ont probablement été domestiquées pour la première fois en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée. Ils sont cultivés dans 135 pays, principalement pour leurs fruits, et dans une moindre mesure pour fabriquer des fibres, du vin de banane et de la bière de banane et comme plantes ornementales. Les plus grands producteurs mondiaux de bananes en 2017 étaient l'Inde et la Chine, qui représentaient ensemble environ 38 % de la production totale.

 

Una banana è un frutto allungato e commestibile, botanicamente una bacca, prodotto da diversi tipi di grandi piante erbacee da fiore del genere Musa. In alcuni paesi, le banane utilizzate per cucinare possono essere chiamate "platani", distinguendole dalle banane da dessert. Il frutto è variabile per dimensione, colore e consistenza, ma è generalmente allungato e ricurvo, con polpa morbida ricca di amido ricoperta da una scorza, che può essere verde, gialla, rossa, viola o marrone a maturità. I frutti crescono in grappoli appesi alla sommità della pianta. Quasi tutte le moderne banane commestibili senza semi (partenocarpo) provengono da due specie selvatiche: Musa acuminata e Musa balbisiana. I nomi scientifici delle banane più coltivate sono Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana e Musa × paradisiaca per l'ibrido Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, a seconda della loro costituzione genomica. Il vecchio nome scientifico di questo ibrido, Musa sapientum, non è più utilizzato. Le specie Musa sono originarie dell'Indomalaya tropicale e dell'Australia, ed è probabile che siano state addomesticate per la prima volta in Papua Nuova Guinea. Sono coltivati in 135 paesi, principalmente per i loro frutti, e in misura minore per produrre fibre, vino di banana e birra di banana e come piante ornamentali. I maggiori produttori mondiali di banane nel 2017 sono stati India e Cina, che insieme hanno rappresentato circa il 38% della produzione totale.

 

Eine Banane ist eine längliche, essbare Frucht – botanisch gesehen eine Beere – die von mehreren Arten großer krautiger Blütenpflanzen der Gattung Musa produziert wird. In einigen Ländern werden Bananen, die zum Kochen verwendet werden, als "Kochbananen" bezeichnet, was sie von Dessertbananen unterscheidet. Die Frucht ist unterschiedlich in Größe, Farbe und Festigkeit, aber normalerweise länglich und gebogen, mit weichem, stärkereichem Fruchtfleisch, das mit einer Rinde bedeckt ist, die im reifen Zustand grün, gelb, rot, violett oder braun sein kann. Die Früchte wachsen in Büscheln, die von der Spitze der Pflanze hängen. Fast alle modernen essbaren kernlosen Bananen (Parthenokarp) stammen von zwei Wildarten – Musa acuminata und Musa balbisiana. Die wissenschaftlichen Namen der am häufigsten angebauten Bananen sind Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana und Musa × paradisiaca für die Hybride Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, abhängig von ihrer genomischen Konstitution. Der alte wissenschaftliche Name für diese Hybride, Musa sapientum, wird nicht mehr verwendet. Musa-Arten sind im tropischen Indomalaya und Australien beheimatet und wurden wahrscheinlich zuerst in Papua-Neuguinea domestiziert. Sie werden in 135 Ländern angebaut, hauptsächlich wegen ihrer Früchte und in geringerem Maße zur Herstellung von Ballaststoffen, Bananenwein und Bananenbier sowie als Zierpflanzen. Die weltweit größten Bananenproduzenten waren 2017 Indien und China, die zusammen etwa 38 % der Gesamtproduktion ausmachten.

 

‎الموز هو فاكهة مستطيلة صالحة للأكل - نباتية توت - تنتجها عدة أنواع من النباتات المزهرة العشبية الكبيرة في جنس موسى. في بعض البلدان ، قد يطلق على الموز المستخدم في الطهي اسم "الموز" ، مما يميزه عن الموز المصنوع من الحلوى. تختلف الثمار في الحجم واللون والصلابة ، ولكنها عادة ما تكون ممدودة ومنحنية ، ولحم ناعم غني بالنشا مغطى بقشرة قد تكون خضراء أو صفراء أو حمراء أو أرجوانية أو بنية عند النضج. تنمو الثمار في مجموعات تتدلى من أعلى النبات. تأتي جميع أنواع الموز الحديثة الصالحة للأكل (parthenocarp) من نوعين من الأنواع البرية - Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana. الأسماء العلمية لمعظم أنواع الموز المزروعة هي Musa acuminata و Musa balbisiana و Musa × paradisiaca للهجين Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana ، اعتمادًا على تكوينها الجيني. لم يعد الاسم العلمي القديم لهذا الهجين ، Musa sapientum ، مستخدمًا. أنواع موسى موطنها إندومالايا الاستوائية وأستراليا ، ومن المحتمل أن تكون قد تم تدجينها لأول مرة في بابوا غينيا الجديدة. تزرع في 135 دولة ، في المقام الأول من أجل فواكهها ، وبدرجة أقل لتصنيع الألياف ونبيذ الموز وبيرة الموز ونباتات الزينة. كانت الهند والصين أكبر منتجي الموز في العالم في عام 2017 ، حيث شكلا معًا ما يقرب من 38 ٪ من إجمالي الإنتاج.

Rick Berke

Co-Founder and Executive Editor, STAT

 

Phil Febbo

Chief Medical Officer, Illumina

 

Rakesh Suri

CEO, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

 

Anamika Mehta

Patient Wellness Manager, Novomed

A doctor and patient consult a DNA genomic sequence in a clinical setting. Training doctors to use genomic sequencing is an important part of the challenges facing today's medical practice.

 

Credit: Darryl Leja, NHGRI.

NHGRI launched the Genomics of Gene Regulation (GGR) program to decipher the language of how and when genes are turned on and off. In the program, researchers aim to study gene networks and pathways in different systems of the body, such as skin, immune cells and lung. Credit: Darryl Leja, NHGRI.

DNA double helix with ACGT and binary numbers in the background.

 

Credit: Jonathan Bailey, NHGRI.

The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat of the genus Panthera, native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called prides. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator; although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt humans, lions typically do not actively seek out and prey on humans.

 

The lion inhabits grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands. It is usually more diurnal than other wild cats, but when persecuted, it adapts to being active at night and at twilight. During the Neolithic period, the lion ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia, from Southeast Europe to India, but it has been reduced to fragmented populations in sub-Saharan Africa and one population in western India. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 because populations in African countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. Lion populations are untenable outside designated protected areas. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes for concern.

 

One of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture, the lion has been extensively depicted in sculptures and paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. Lions have been kept in menageries since the time of the Roman Empire and have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoological gardens across the world since the late 18th century. Cultural depictions of lions were prominent in Ancient Egypt, and depictions have occurred in virtually all ancient and medieval cultures in the lion's historic and current range.

 

Etymology

The English word lion is derived via Anglo-Norman liun from Latin leōnem (nominative: leō), which in turn was a borrowing from Ancient Greek λέων léōn. The Hebrew word לָבִיא lavi may also be related.[4] The generic name Panthera is traceable to the classical Latin word 'panthēra' and the ancient Greek word πάνθηρ 'panther'.[5]

 

Taxonomy

 

The upper cladogram is based on the 2006 study,[6][7] the lower one on the 2010[8] and 2011[9] studies.

Felis leo was the scientific name used by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, who described the lion in his work Systema Naturae.[3] The genus name Panthera was coined by Lorenz Oken in 1816.[10] Between the mid-18th and mid-20th centuries, 26 lion specimens were described and proposed as subspecies, of which 11 were recognised as valid in 2005.[1] They were distinguished mostly by the size and colour of their manes and skins.[11]

 

Subspecies

 

Range map showing distribution of subspecies and clades

In the 19th and 20th centuries, several lion type specimens were described and proposed as subspecies, with about a dozen recognised as valid taxa until 2017.[1] Between 2008 and 2016, IUCN Red List assessors used only two subspecific names: P. l. leo for African lion populations, and P. l. persica for the Asiatic lion population.[2][12][13] In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group revised lion taxonomy, and recognises two subspecies based on results of several phylogeographic studies on lion evolution, namely:[14]

 

P. l. leo (Linnaeus, 1758) − the nominate lion subspecies includes the Asiatic lion, the regionally extinct Barbary lion, and lion populations in West and northern parts of Central Africa.[14] Synonyms include P. l. persica (Meyer, 1826), P. l. senegalensis (Meyer, 1826), P. l. kamptzi (Matschie, 1900), and P. l. azandica (Allen, 1924).[1] Multiple authors referred to it as 'northern lion' and 'northern subspecies'.[15][16]

P. l. melanochaita (Smith, 1842) − includes the extinct Cape lion and lion populations in East and Southern African regions.[14] Synonyms include P. l. somaliensis (Noack 1891), P. l. massaica (Neumann, 1900), P. l. sabakiensis (Lönnberg, 1910), P. l. bleyenberghi (Lönnberg, 1914), P. l. roosevelti (Heller, 1914), P. l. nyanzae (Heller, 1914), P. l. hollisteri (Allen, 1924), P. l. krugeri (Roberts, 1929), P. l. vernayi (Roberts, 1948), and P. l. webbiensis (Zukowsky, 1964).[1][11] It has been referred to as 'southern subspecies' and 'southern lion'.[16]

However, there seems to be some degree of overlap between both groups in northern Central Africa. DNA analysis from a more recent study indicates, that Central African lions are derived from both northern and southern lions, as they cluster with P. leo leo in mtDNA-based phylogenies whereas their genomic DNA indicates a closer relationship with P. leo melanochaita.[17]

 

Lion samples from some parts of the Ethiopian Highlands cluster genetically with those from Cameroon and Chad, while lions from other areas of Ethiopia cluster with samples from East Africa. Researchers, therefore, assume Ethiopia is a contact zone between the two subspecies.[18] Genome-wide data of a wild-born historical lion sample from Sudan showed that it clustered with P. l. leo in mtDNA-based phylogenies, but with a high affinity to P. l. melanochaita. This result suggested that the taxonomic position of lions in Central Africa may require revision.[19]

 

Fossil records

 

Skull of an American lion on display at the National Museum of Natural History

Other lion subspecies or sister species to the modern lion existed in prehistoric times:[20]

 

P. l. sinhaleyus was a fossil carnassial excavated in Sri Lanka, which was attributed to a lion. It is thought to have become extinct around 39,000 years ago.[21]

P. fossilis was larger than the modern lion and lived in the Middle Pleistocene. Bone fragments were excavated in caves in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Czech Republic.[22][23]

P. spelaea, or the cave lion, lived in Eurasia and Beringia during the Late Pleistocene. It became extinct due to climate warming or human expansion latest by 11,900 years ago.[24] Bone fragments excavated in European, North Asian, Canadian and Alaskan caves indicate that it ranged from Europe across Siberia into western Alaska.[25] It likely derived from P. fossilis,[26] and was genetically isolated and highly distinct from the modern lion in Africa and Eurasia.[27][26] It is depicted in Paleolithic cave paintings, ivory carvings, and clay busts.[28]

P. atrox, or the American lion, ranged in the Americas from Canada to possibly Patagonia.[29] It arose when a cave lion population in Beringia became isolated south of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet about 370,000 years ago.[30][31] A fossil from Edmonton dates to 11,355 ± 55 years ago.[32]

Evolution

 

red Panthera spelaea

blue Panthera atrox

green Panthera leo

 

Maximal range of the modern lion

and its prehistoric relatives

in the late Pleistocene

The Panthera lineage is estimated to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae around 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago to 11.75 to 0.97 million years ago,[6][33][34] and the geographic origin of the genus is most likely northern Central Asia.[35] Results of analyses differ in the phylogenetic relationship of the lion; it was thought to form a sister group with the jaguar (P. onca) that diverged 3.46 to 1.22 million years ago,[6] but also with the leopard (P. pardus) that diverged 3.1 to 1.95 million years ago[8][9] to 4.32 to 0.02 million years ago. Hybridisation between lion and snow leopard (P. uncia) ancestors possibly continued until about 2.1 million years ago.[34] The lion-leopard clade was distributed in the Asian and African Palearctic since at least the early Pliocene.[35] The earliest fossils recognisable as lions were found at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and are estimated to be up to 2 million years old.[33]

 

Estimates for the divergence time of the modern and cave lion lineages range from 529,000 to 392,000 years ago based on mutation rate per generation time of the modern lion. There is no evidence for gene flow between the two lineages, indicating that they did not share the same geographic area.[19] The Eurasian and American cave lions became extinct at the end of the last glacial period without mitochondrial descendants on other continents.[27][36][37] The modern lion was probably widely distributed in Africa during the Middle Pleistocene and started to diverge in sub-Saharan Africa during the Late Pleistocene. Lion populations in East and Southern Africa became separated from populations in West and North Africa when the equatorial rainforest expanded 183,500 to 81,800 years ago.[38] They shared a common ancestor probably between 98,000 and 52,000 years ago.[19] Due to the expansion of the Sahara between 83,100 and 26,600 years ago, lion populations in West and North Africa became separated. As the rainforest decreased and thus gave rise to more open habitats, lions moved from West to Central Africa. Lions from North Africa dispersed to southern Europe and Asia between 38,800 and 8,300 years ago.[38]

 

Extinction of lions in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East interrupted gene flow between lion populations in Asia and Africa. Genetic evidence revealed numerous mutations in lion samples from East and Southern Africa, which indicates that this group has a longer evolutionary history than genetically less diverse lion samples from Asia and West and Central Africa.[39] A whole genome-wide sequence of lion samples showed that samples from West Africa shared alleles with samples from Southern Africa, and samples from Central Africa shared alleles with samples from Asia. This phenomenon indicates that Central Africa was a melting pot of lion populations after they had become isolated, possibly migrating through corridors in the Nile Basin during the early Holocene.[19]

 

Hybrids

Further information: Panthera hybrid

In zoos, lions have been bred with tigers to create hybrids for the curiosity of visitors or for scientific purpose.[40][41] The liger is bigger than a lion and a tiger, whereas most tigons are relatively small compared to their parents because of reciprocal gene effects.[42][43] The leopon is a hybrid between a lion and leopard.[44]

 

Description

 

A tuft at the end of the tail is a distinct characteristic of the lion.

 

Skeleton

The lion is a muscular, broad-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a reduced neck, and round ears; males have broader heads. The fur varies in colour from light buff to silvery grey, yellowish red, and dark brown. The colours of the underparts are generally lighter. A new-born lion has dark spots, which fade as the cub reaches adulthood, although faint spots may still be seen on the legs and underparts.[45][46] The tail of all lions ends in a dark, hairy tuft that, in some lions, conceals an approximately 5 mm (0.20 in)-long, hard "spine" or "spur" that is formed from the final, fused sections of tail bone. The functions of the spur are unknown. The tuft is absent at birth and develops at around 5+1⁄2 months of age. It is readily identifiable at the age of seven months.[47]

 

Its skull is very similar to that of the tiger, although the frontal region is usually more depressed and flattened and has a slightly shorter postorbital region and broader nasal openings than those of the tiger. Due to the amount of skull variation in the two species, usually only the structure of the lower jaw can be used as a reliable indicator of species.[48][49]

 

The skeletal muscles of the lion make up 58.8% of its body weight and represent the highest percentage of muscles among mammals.[50][51]

 

Size

Among felids, the lion is second only to the tiger in size.[46] The size and weight of adult lions vary across its range and habitats.[52][53][54][55] Accounts of a few individuals that were larger than average exist from Africa and India.[45][56][57][58]

 

AverageFemale lionsMale lions

Head-and-body length160–184 cm (63–72 in)[59]184–208 cm (72–82 in)[59]

Tail length72–89.5 cm (28.3–35.2 in)[59]82.5–93.5 cm (32.5–36.8 in)[59]

Weight118.37–143.52 kg (261.0–316.4 lb) in Southern Africa,[52]

119.5 kg (263 lb) in East Africa,[52]

110–120 kg (240–260 lb) in India[53]186.55–225 kg (411.3–496.0 lb) in Southern Africa,[52]

174.9 kg (386 lb) in East Africa,[52]

160–190 kg (350–420 lb) in India[53]

Mane

 

A six-year-old male in Phinda Private Game Reserve

 

Male in Pendjari National Park

The male lion's mane is the most recognisable feature of the species.[11] It may have evolved around 320,000–190,000 years ago.[60] It grows downwards and backwards, covering most of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. The mane is typically brownish and tinged with yellow, rust, and black hairs.[46] It starts growing when lions enter adolescence, when testosterone levels increase, and reach their full size at around four years old.[61] Cool ambient temperatures in European and North American zoos may result in a heavier mane.[62] On average, Asiatic lions have sparser manes than African lions.[63]

 

This feature likely evolved to signal the fitness of males to females. The mane of the lion is thought to serve mating purposes. Males with darker manes appear to have greater reproductive success and are more likely to remain in a pride for longer. They have longer and thicker hair and higher testosterone levels, but they are also more vulnerable to heat stress.[64][65] Unlike in other felid species, female lions consistently interact with multiple males at once.[66] Another hypothesis suggests that the mane also serves to protect the neck in fights, but this is disputed.[67][68] During fights, including those involving maneless females and adolescents, the neck is not targeted as much as the face, back, and hindquarters. Injured lions also begin to lose their manes.[69]

 

Almost all male lions in Pendjari National Park are either maneless or have very short manes.[70] Maneless lions have also been reported in Senegal, in Sudan's Dinder National Park and in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya.[71] Castrated lions often have little to no mane because the removal of the gonads inhibits testosterone production.[72]

 

Rarely, lionesses (in the wild and in captivity) have been observed to grow manes.[73][74] Increased testosterone may be the cause of maned lionesses reported in northern Botswana.[75]

 

Colour variation

Further information: White lion

The white lion is a rare morph with a genetic condition called leucism, which is caused by a double recessive allele. It is not albino; it has normal pigmentation in the eyes and skin. White lions have occasionally been encountered in and around Kruger National Park and the adjacent Timbavati Private Game Reserve in eastern South Africa. They were removed from the wild in the 1970s, thus decreasing the white lion gene pool. Nevertheless, 17 births have been recorded in five prides between 2007 and 2015.[76] White lions are selected for breeding in captivity.[77] They have reportedly been bred in camps in South Africa for use as trophies to be killed during canned hunts.[78]

 

Distribution and habitat

 

Lion in Gir National Park

African lions live in scattered populations across sub-Saharan Africa. The lion prefers grassy plains and savannahs, scrub bordering rivers, and open woodlands with bushes. It rarely enters closed forests. On Mount Elgon, the lion has been recorded up to an elevation of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) and close to the snow line on Mount Kenya.[45] Savannahs with an annual rainfall of 300 to 1,500 mm (12 to 59 in) make up the majority of lion habitat in Africa, estimated at 3,390,821 km2 (1,309,203 sq mi) at most, but remnant populations are also present in tropical moist forests in West Africa and montane forests in East Africa.[79] The Asiatic lion now survives only in and around Gir National Park in Gujarat, western India. Its habitat is a mixture of dry savannah forest and very dry, deciduous scrub forest.[12]

 

Historical range

In Africa, the range of the lion originally spanned most of the central African rainforest zone and the Sahara desert.[80] In the 1960s, it became extinct in North Africa, except in the southern part of Sudan.[81][79][82]

 

In southern Europe and Asia, the lion once ranged in regions where climatic conditions supported an abundance of prey.[83] In Greece, it was common, as reported by Herodotus in 480 BC; it was considered rare by 300 BC and extirpated by AD 100.[45] It was present in the Caucasus until the 10th century.[49] It lived in Palestine until the Middle Ages and in Southwest Asia until the late 19th century. By the late 19th century, it had been extirpated in most of Turkey.[84] The last live lion in Iran was sighted in 1942, about 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Dezful,[85] although the corpse of a lioness was found on the banks of the Karun river in Khuzestan province in 1944.[86] It once ranged from Sind and Punjab in Pakistan to Bengal and the Narmada River in central India.[87]

 

Behaviour and ecology

Lions spend much of their time resting; they are inactive for about twenty hours per day.[88] Although lions can be active at any time, their activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socialising, grooming, and defecating. Intermittent bursts of activity continue until dawn, when hunting most often takes place. They spend an average of two hours a day walking and fifty minutes eating.[89]

 

Group organisation

 

Lion pride in Etosha National Park

 

A lioness (left) and two males in Masai Mara

The lion is the most social of all wild felid species, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring. Such a group is called a "pride". Groups of male lions are called "coalitions".[90] Females form the stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females.[91] The majority of females remain in their birth prides while all males and some females will disperse.[92] The average pride consists of around 15 lions, including several adult females and up to four males and their cubs of both sexes. Large prides, consisting of up to 30 individuals, have been observed.[93] The sole exception to this pattern is the Tsavo lion pride that always has just one adult male.[94] Prides act as fission–fusion societies, and members will split into subgroups that keep in contact with roars.[95]

 

Nomadic lions range widely and move around sporadically, either in pairs or alone.[90] Pairs are more frequent among related males. A lion may switch lifestyles; nomads can become residents and vice versa.[96] Interactions between prides and nomads tend to be hostile, although pride females in estrus allow nomadic males to approach them.[97] Males spend years in a nomadic phase before gaining residence in a pride.[98] A study undertaken in the Serengeti National Park revealed that nomadic coalitions gain residency at between 3.5 and 7.3 years of age.[99] In Kruger National Park, dispersing male lions move more than 25 km (16 mi) away from their natal pride in search of their own territory. Female lions stay closer to their natal pride. Therefore, female lions in an area are more closely related to each other than male lions in the same area.[100]

 

The evolution of sociability in lions was likely driven both by high population density and the clumped resources of savannah habitats. The larger the pride, the more high-quality territory they can defend; "hotspots" being near river confluences, where the cats have better access to water, prey and shelter (via vegetation).[101][102] The area occupied by a pride is called a "pride area" whereas that occupied by a nomad is a "range".[90] Males associated with a pride patrol the fringes.[46] Both males and females defend the pride against intruders, but the male lion is better-suited for this purpose due to its stockier, more powerful build. Some individuals consistently lead the defense against intruders, while others lag behind.[103] Lions tend to assume specific roles in the pride; slower-moving individuals may provide other valuable services to the group.[104] Alternatively, there may be rewards associated with being a leader that fends off intruders; the rank of lionesses in the pride is reflected in these responses.[105] The male or males associated with the pride must defend their relationship with the pride from outside males who may attempt to usurp them.[96] Dominance hierarchies do not appear to exist among individuals of either sex in a pride.[106]

 

Asiatic lion prides differ in group composition. Male Asiatic lions are solitary or associate with up to three males, forming a loose pride while females associate with up to 12 other females, forming a stronger pride together with their cubs. Female and male lions associate only when mating.[107] Coalitions of males hold territory for a longer time than single lions. Males in coalitions of three or four individuals exhibit a pronounced hierarchy, in which one male dominates the others and mates more frequently.[108]

 

Hunting and diet

 

Male lion and cub feeding on a Cape buffalo in Sabi Sand Game Reserve

 

Four lionesses catching a buffalo in the Serengeti

 

A skeletal mount of a lion attacking a common eland, on display at The Museum of Osteology

The lion is a generalist hypercarnivore and is considered to be both an apex and keystone predator due to its wide prey spectrum.[109][110] Its prey consists mainly of ungulates particularly blue wildebeest, plains zebra, African buffalo, common warthog, gemsbok and giraffe.[111] In India, chital and sambar deer are the most common wild prey,[46][111][112] while livestock contributes significantly to lion kills outside protected areas.[113] They usually avoid fully grown adult elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotamus and small prey like dik-dik, hyraxes, hares and monkeys.[111][114] Unusual prey include porcupines and small reptiles. Lions kill other predators but seldom consume them.[115]

 

Young lions first display stalking behaviour at around three months of age, although they do not participate in hunting until they are almost a year old and begin to hunt effectively when nearing the age of two.[116] Single lions are capable of bringing down zebra and wildebeest, while larger prey like buffalo and giraffe are riskier.[96] In Chobe National Park, large prides have been observed hunting African bush elephants up to around 15 years old in exceptional cases, with the victims being calves, juveniles, and even subadults.[117][118] In typical hunts, each lioness has a favoured position in the group, either stalking prey on the "wing", then attacking, or moving a smaller distance in the centre of the group and capturing prey fleeing from other lionesses. Males attached to prides do not usually participate in group hunting.[119] Some evidence suggests, however, that males are just as successful as females; they are typically solo hunters who ambush prey in small bushland.[120] They may join in the hunting of large, slower-moving prey like buffalo; and even hunt them on their own. Moderately-sized hunting groups generally have higher success rates than lone females and larger groups.[121]

 

Lions are not particularly known for their stamina. For instance, a lioness's heart comprises only 0.57% of her body weight and a male's is about 0.45% of his body weight, whereas a hyena's heart comprises almost 1% of its body weight.[122] Thus, lions run quickly only in short bursts at about 48–59 km/h (30–37 mph) and need to be close to their prey before starting the attack.[123] One study in 2018 recorded a lion running at a top speed of 74.1 km/h (46.0 mph).[124] They take advantage of factors that reduce visibility; many kills take place near some form of cover or at night.[125] The lion's attack is short and powerful; it attempts to catch prey with a fast rush and final leap, usually pulls it down by the rump, and kills with a clamping bite to the throat or muzzle. It can hold the prey's throat for up to 13 minutes, until the prey stops moving.[126]

 

Lions typically consume prey at the location of the hunt but sometimes drag large prey into cover.[127] They tend to squabble over kills, particularly the males. Cubs suffer most when food is scarce but otherwise all pride members eat their fill, including old and crippled lions, which can live on leftovers.[96] Large kills are shared more widely among pride members.[128] An adult lioness requires an average of about 5 kg (11 lb) of meat per day while males require about 7 kg (15 lb).[129] Lions gorge themselves and eat up to 30 kg (66 lb) in one session.[86] If it is unable to consume all of the kill, it rests for a few hours before continuing to eat. On hot days, the pride retreats to shade with one or two males standing guard.[127] Lions defend their kills from scavengers such as vultures and hyenas.[96]

 

Lions scavenge on carrion when the opportunity arises, scavenging animals dead from natural causes such as disease or those that were killed by other predators. Scavenging lions keep a constant lookout for circling vultures, which indicate the death or distress of an animal.[130] Most carrion on which both hyenas and lions feed upon are killed by hyenas rather than lions.[55] Carrion is thought to provide a large part of lion diet.[131]

 

Predatory competition

 

Lioness chasing a spotted hyena in Kruger National Park

 

Lioness stealing a kill from a leopard in Kruger National Park

Lions and spotted hyenas occupy a similar ecological niche and compete for prey and carrion; a review of data across several studies indicates a dietary overlap of 58.6%.[132] Lions typically ignore hyenas unless they are on a kill or are being harassed, while the latter tend to visibly react to the presence of lions with or without the presence of food. In the Ngorongoro crater, lions subsist largely on kills stolen from hyenas, causing them to increase their kill rate.[133] In Botswana's Chobe National Park, the situation is reversed as hyenas there frequently challenge lions and steal their kills, obtaining food from 63% of all lion kills.[134] When confronted on a kill, hyenas may either leave or wait patiently at a distance of 30–100 m (98–328 ft) until the lions have finished.[135] Hyenas may feed alongside lions and force them off a kill. The two species attack one another even when there is no food involved for no apparent reason.[136] Lions can account for up to 71% of hyena deaths in Etosha National Park. Hyenas have adapted by frequently mobbing lions that enter their home ranges.[137] When the lion population in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve declined, the spotted hyena population increased rapidly.[138]

 

Lions tend to dominate cheetahs and leopards, steal their kills and kill their cubs and even adults when given the chance.[139] Cheetahs often lose their kills to lions or other predators.[140] A study in the Serengeti ecosystem revealed that lions killed at least 17 of 125 cheetah cubs born between 1987 and 1990.[141] Cheetahs avoid their competitors by hunting at different times and habitats.[142] Leopards take refuge in trees, but lionesses occasionally attempt to climb up and retrieve their kills.[143]

 

Lions similarly dominate African wild dogs, taking their kills and slaying pups or adult dogs. Population densities of wild dogs are low in areas where lions are more abundant.[144] However, there are a few reported cases of old and wounded lions falling prey to wild dogs.[145][146]

 

Reproduction and life cycle

 

Lions mating at Masai Mara

 

A lion cub in Masai Mara

Most lionesses reproduce by the time they are four years of age.[147] Lions do not mate at a specific time of year and the females are polyestrous.[148] Like those of other cats, the male lion's penis has spines that point backward. During withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina, which may cause ovulation.[149][150] A lioness may mate with more than one male when she is in heat.[151] Lions of both sexes may be involved in group homosexual and courtship activities. Males will also head-rub and roll around with each other before mounting each other.[152][153] Generation length of the lion is about seven years.[154] The average gestation period is around 110 days;[148] the female gives birth to a litter of between one and four cubs in a secluded den, which may be a thicket, a reed-bed, a cave, or some other sheltered area, usually away from the pride. She will often hunt alone while the cubs are still helpless, staying relatively close to the den.[155] Lion cubs are born blind, their eyes opening around seven days after birth. They weigh 1.2–2.1 kg (2.6–4.6 lb) at birth and are almost helpless, beginning to crawl a day or two after birth and walking around three weeks of age.[156] To avoid a buildup of scent attracting the attention of predators, the lioness moves her cubs to a new den site several times a month, carrying them one-by-one by the nape of the neck.[155]

 

Usually, the mother does not integrate herself and her cubs back into the pride until the cubs are six to eight weeks old.[155] Sometimes the introduction to pride life occurs earlier, particularly if other lionesses have given birth at about the same time.[96][157] When first introduced to the rest of the pride, lion cubs lack confidence when confronted with adults other than their mother. They soon begin to immerse themselves in the pride life, however, playing among themselves or attempting to initiate play with the adults.[157] Lionesses with cubs of their own are more likely to be tolerant of another lioness's cubs than lionesses without cubs. Male tolerance of the cubs varies—one male could patiently let the cubs play with his tail or his mane, while another may snarl and bat the cubs away.[158]

 

Video of a lioness and her cubs in Phinda Reserve

Pride lionesses often synchronise their reproductive cycles and communal rearing and suckling of the young, which suckle indiscriminately from any or all of the nursing females in the pride. The synchronisation of births is advantageous because the cubs grow to being roughly the same size and have an equal chance of survival, and sucklings are not dominated by older cubs.[96][157] Weaning occurs after six or seven months. Male lions reach maturity at about three years of age and at four to five years are capable of challenging and displacing adult males associated with another pride. They begin to age and weaken at between 10 and 15 years of age at the latest.[159]

 

When one or more new males oust the previous males associated with a pride, the victors often kill any existing young cubs, perhaps because females do not become fertile and receptive until their cubs mature or die. Females often fiercely defend their cubs from a usurping male but are rarely successful unless a group of three or four mothers within a pride join forces against the male.[160] Cubs also die from starvation and abandonment, and predation by leopards, hyenas and wild dogs. Male cubs are excluded from their maternal pride when they reach maturity at around two or three years of age,[161] while some females may leave when they reach the age of two.[92] When a new male lion takes over a pride, adolescents both male and female may be evicted.[162]

 

Health and mortality

 

Lions in a tree near Lake Nakuru

Lions may live 12–17 years.[46] Although adult lions have no natural predators, evidence suggests most die violently from attacks by humans or other lions.[163] Lions often inflict serious injuries on members of other prides they encounter in territorial disputes or members of the home pride when fighting at a kill.[164] Crippled lions and cubs may fall victim to hyenas and leopards or be trampled by buffalo or elephants. Careless lions may be maimed when hunting prey.[165] Nile crocodiles may also kill and eat lions, evidenced by the occasional lion claw found in crocodile stomachs.[166]

 

Ticks commonly infest the ears, neck and groin regions of the lions.[167][168] Adult forms of several tapeworm species of the genus Taenia have been isolated from lion intestines, having been ingested as larvae in antelope meat.[169] Lions in the Ngorongoro Crater were afflicted by an outbreak of stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) in 1962, resulting in lions becoming emaciated and covered in bloody, bare patches. Lions sought unsuccessfully to evade the biting flies by climbing trees or crawling into hyena burrows; many died or migrated and the local population dropped from 70 to 15 individuals.[170] A more recent outbreak in 2001 killed six lions.[171]

 

Captive lions have been infected with canine distemper virus (CDV) since at least the mid-1970s.[172] CDV is spread by domestic dogs and other carnivores; a 1994 outbreak in Serengeti National Park resulted in many lions developing neurological symptoms such as seizures. During the outbreak, several lions died from pneumonia and encephalitis.[173] Feline immunodeficiency virus and lentivirus also affect captive lions.[174][175]

 

Communication

 

Head rubbing among pride members is a common social behaviour.

When resting, lion socialisation occurs through a number of behaviours; the animal's expressive movements are highly developed. The most common peaceful, tactile gestures are head rubbing and social licking,[176] which have been compared with the role of allogrooming among primates.[177] Head rubbing, nuzzling the forehead, face and neck against another lion appears to be a form of greeting[178] and is seen often after an animal has been apart from others or after a fight or confrontation. Males tend to rub other males, while cubs and females rub females.[179] Social licking often occurs in tandem with head rubbing; it is generally mutual and the recipient appears to express pleasure. The head and neck are the most common parts of the body licked; this behaviour may have arisen out of utility because lions cannot lick these areas themselves.[180]

  

Lion roar

Duration: 10 seconds.0:10

A captive lion roaring

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Lions have an array of facial expressions and body postures that serve as visual gestures.[181] A common facial expression is the "grimace face" or flehmen response, which a lion makes when sniffing chemical signals and involves an open mouth with bared teeth, raised muzzle, wrinkled nose, closed eyes and relaxed ears.[182] Lions also use chemical and visual marking;[181] males spray urine[183] and scrape plots of ground and objects within the territory.[181]

 

The lion's repertoire of vocalisations is large; variations in intensity and pitch appear to be central to communication. Most lion vocalisations are variations of growling, snarling, meowing and roaring. Other sounds produced include purring, puffing, bleating and humming. Roaring is used to advertise its presence. Lions most often roar at night, a sound that can be heard from a distance of 8 kilometres (5 mi).[184] They tend to roar in a very characteristic manner starting with a few deep, long roars that subside into grunts.[185][186]

 

Conservation

The lion is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The Indian population is listed on CITES Appendix I and the African population on CITES Appendix II.[2]

 

In Africa

Video of a wild lioness

Several large and well-managed protected areas in Africa host large lion populations. Where an infrastructure for wildlife tourism has been developed, cash revenue for park management and local communities is a strong incentive for lion conservation.[2] Most lions now live in East and Southern Africa; their numbers are rapidly decreasing, and fell by an estimated 30–50% in the late half of the 20th century. Primary causes of the decline include disease and human interference.[2] In 1975, it was estimated that since the 1950s, lion numbers had decreased by half to 200,000 or fewer.[187] Estimates of the African lion population range between 16,500 and 47,000 living in the wild in 2002–2004.[188][81]

 

In the Republic of the Congo, Odzala-Kokoua National Park was considered a lion stronghold in the 1990s. By 2014, no lions were recorded in the protected area so the population is considered locally extinct.[189] The West African lion population is isolated from the one in Central Africa, with little or no exchange of breeding individuals. In 2015, it was estimated that this population consists of about 400 animals, including fewer than 250 mature individuals. They persist in three protected areas in the region, mostly in one population in the W A P protected area complex, shared by Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. This population is listed as Critically Endangered.[13] Field surveys in the WAP ecosystem revealed that lion occupancy is lowest in the W National Park, and higher in areas with permanent staff and thus better protection.[190]

 

A population occurs in Cameroon's Waza National Park, where between approximately 14 and 21 animals persisted as of 2009. In addition, 50 to 150 lions are estimated to be present in Burkina Faso's Arly-Singou ecosystem. In 2015, an adult male lion and a female lion were sighted in Ghana's Mole National Park. These were the first sightings of lions in the country in 39 years. In the same year, a population of up to 200 lions that was previously thought to have been extirpated was filmed in the Alatash National Park, Ethiopia, close to the Sudanese border.

 

In 2005, Lion Conservation Strategies were developed for West and Central Africa, and or East and Southern Africa. The strategies seek to maintain suitable habitat, ensure a sufficient wild prey base for lions, reduce factors that lead to further fragmentation of populations, and make lion–human coexistence sustainable. Lion depredation on livestock is significantly reduced in areas where herders keep livestock in improved enclosures. Such measures contribute to mitigating human–lion conflict.

 

In Asia

The last refuge of the Asiatic lion population is the 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi) Gir National Park and surrounding areas in the region of Saurashtra or Kathiawar Peninsula in Gujarat State, India. The population has risen from approximately 180 lions in 1974 to about 400 in 2010.[199] It is geographically isolated, which can lead to inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity. Since 2008, the Asiatic lion has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. By 2015, the population had grown to 523 individuals inhabiting an area of 7,000 km2 (2,700 sq mi) in Saurashtra. The Asiatic Lion Census conducted in 2017 recorded about 650 individuals.

 

The presence of numerous human habitations close to the National Park results in conflict between lions, local people and their livestock. Some consider the presence of lions a benefit, as they keep populations of crop damaging herbivores in check. The establishment of a second, independent Asiatic lion population in Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Madhya Pradesh was planned but in 2017, the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project seemed unlikely to be implemented.

 

Captive breeding

Lions imported to Europe before the middle of the 19th century were possibly foremost Barbary lions from North Africa, or Cape lions from Southern Africa. Another 11 animals thought to be Barbary lions kept in Addis Ababa Zoo are descendants of animals owned by Emperor Haile Selassie. WildLink International in collaboration with Oxford University launched an ambitious International Barbary Lion Project with the aim of identifying and breeding Barbary lions in captivity for eventual reintroduction into a national park in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. However, a genetic analysis showed that the captive lions at Addis Ababa Zoo were not Barbary lions, but rather closely related to wild lions in Chad and Cameroon.

 

In 1982, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums started a Species Survival Plan for the Asiatic lion to increase its chances of survival. In 1987, it was found that most lions in North American zoos were hybrids between African and Asiatic lions. Breeding programs need to note origins of the participating animals to avoid cross-breeding different subspecies and thus reducing their conservation value. Captive breeding of lions was halted to eliminate individuals of unknown origin and pedigree. Wild-born lions were imported to American zoos from Africa between 1989 and 1995. Breeding was continued in 1998 in the frame of an African lion Species Survival Plan.

 

About 77% of the captive lions registered in the International Species Information System in 2006 were of unknown origin; these animals might have carried genes that are extinct in the wild and may therefore be important to the maintenance of the overall genetic variability of the lion.

 

Interactions with humans

Lions are part of a group of exotic animals that have been central to zoo exhibits since the late 18th century. Although many modern zoos are more selective about their exhibits, there are more than 1,000 African and 100 Asiatic lions in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. They are considered an ambassador species and are kept for tourism, education and conservation purposes. Lions can live over twenty years in captivity; for example, three sibling lions at the Honolulu Zoo lived to the age of 22 in 2007.

 

The first European "zoos" spread among noble and royal families in the 13th century, and until the 17th century were called seraglios. At that time, they came to be called menageries, an extension of the cabinet of curiosities. They spread from France and Italy during the Renaissance to the rest of Europe. In England, although the seraglio tradition was less developed, lions were kept at the Tower of London in a seraglio established by King John in the 13th century; this was probably stocked with animals from an earlier menagerie started in 1125 by Henry I at his hunting lodge in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, where according to William of Malmesbury lions had been stocked.

 

Lions were kept in cramped and squalid conditions at London Zoo until a larger lion house with roomier cages was built in the 1870s. Further changes took place in the early 20th century when Carl Hagenbeck designed enclosures with concrete "rocks", more open space and a moat instead of bars, more closely resembling a natural habitat. Hagenbeck designed lion enclosures for both Melbourne Zoo and Sydney's Taronga Zoo; although his designs were popular, the use of bars and caged enclosures prevailed in many zoos until the 1960s. In the late 20th century, larger, more natural enclosures and the use of wire mesh or laminated glass instead of lowered dens allowed visitors to come closer than ever to the animals; some attractions such as the Cat Forest/Lion Overlook of Oklahoma City Zoological Park placed the den on ground level, higher than visitors.

 

Lion taming has been part of both established circuses and individual acts such as Siegfried & Roy. The practice began in the early 19th century by Frenchman Henri Martin and American Isaac Van Amburgh, who both toured widely and whose techniques were copied by a number of followers.[225] Van Amburgh performed before Queen Victoria in 1838 when he toured Great Britain. Martin composed a pantomime titled Les Lions de Mysore ("the lions of Mysore"), an idea Amburgh quickly borrowed. These acts eclipsed equestrianism acts as the central display of circus shows and entered public consciousness in the early 20th century with cinema. In demonstrating the superiority of human over animal, lion taming served a purpose similar to animal fights of previous centuries. The ultimate proof of a tamer's dominance and control over a lion is demonstrated by the placing of the tamer's head in the lion's mouth. The now-iconic lion tamer's chair was possibly first used by American Clyde Beatty (1903–1965).

 

Hunting and games

Lion hunting has occurred since ancient times and was often a royal tradition, intended to demonstrate the power of the king over nature. Such hunts took place in a reserved area in front of an audience. The monarch was accompanied by his men and controls were put in place to increase their safety and ease of killing. The earliest surviving record of lion hunting is an ancient Egyptian inscription dated circa 1380 BC that mentions Pharaoh Amenhotep III killing 102 lions in ten years "with his own arrows". The Assyrian emperor Ashurbanipal had one of his lion hunts depicted on a sequence of Assyrian palace reliefs c. 640 BC, known as the Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal. Lions were also hunted during the Mughal Empire, where Emperor Jahangir is said to have excelled at it. In Ancient Rome, lions were kept by emperors for hunts, gladiator fights and executions.

 

The Maasai people have traditionally viewed the killing of lions as a rite of passage. Historically, lions were hunted by individuals, however, due to reduced lion populations, elders discourage solo lion hunts. During the European colonisation of Africa in the 19th century, the hunting of lions was encouraged because they were considered pests and lion skins were sold for £1 each. The widely reproduced imagery of the heroic hunter chasing lions would dominate a large part of the century. Trophy hunting of lions in recent years has been met with controversy, notably with the killing of Cecil the lion in mid-2015.

 

Man-eating

Lions do not usually hunt humans but some (usually males) seem to seek them out. One well-publicised case is the Tsavo maneaters; in 1898, 28 officially recorded railway workers building the Uganda Railway were taken by lions over nine months during the construction of a bridge in Kenya. The hunter who killed the lions wrote a book detailing the animals' predatory behaviour; they were larger than normal and lacked manes, and one seemed to suffer from tooth decay. The infirmity theory, including tooth decay, is not favoured by all researchers; an analysis of teeth and jaws of man-eating lions in museum collections suggests that while tooth decay may explain some incidents, prey depletion in human-dominated areas is a more likely cause of lion predation on humans. Sick or injured animals may be more prone to man-eating but the behaviour is not unusual, nor necessarily aberrant.

 

Lions' proclivity for man-eating has been systematically examined. American and Tanzanian scientists report that man-eating behaviour in rural areas of Tanzania increased greatly from 1990 to 2005. At least 563 villagers were attacked and many eaten over this period. The incidents occurred near Selous Game Reserve in Rufiji River and in Lindi Region near the Mozambican border. While the expansion of villages into bush country is one concern, the authors argue conservation policy must mitigate the danger because in this case, conservation contributes directly to human deaths. Cases in Lindi in which lions seize humans from the centres of substantial villages have been documented. Another study of 1,000 people attacked by lions in southern Tanzania between 1988 and 2009 found that the weeks following the full moon, when there was less moonlight, were a strong indicator of increased night-time attacks on people.

 

According to Robert R. Frump, Mozambican refugees regularly crossing Kruger National Park, South Africa, at night are attacked and eaten by lions; park officials have said man-eating is a problem there. Frump said thousands may have been killed in the decades after apartheid sealed the park and forced refugees to cross the park at night. For nearly a century before the border was sealed, Mozambicans had regularly crossed the park in daytime with little harm.

 

Cultural significance

Lions carved on a rock weight, Jiroft culture, Iran, 3rd mil. BC

The lion is one of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture. It has been extensively depicted in sculptures and paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. It appeared as a symbol for strength and nobility in cultures across Europe, Asia and Africa, despite incidents of attacks on people. The lion has been depicted as "king of the jungle" and "king of beasts", and thus became a popular symbol for royalty and stateliness. The lion is also used as a symbol of sporting teams.

 

Africa

Museum of Denmark

In sub-Saharan Africa, the lion has been a common character in stories, proverbs and dances, but rarely featured in visual arts. In some cultures, the lion symbolises power and royalty. In the Swahili language, the lion is known as simba which also means "aggressive", "king" and "strong". Some rulers had the word "lion" in their nickname. Sundiata Keita of the Mali Empire was called "Lion of Mali". The founder of the Waalo kingdom is said to have been raised by lions and returned to his people part-lion to unite them using the knowledge he learned from the lions.

 

In parts of West Africa, lions symbolised the top class of their social hierarchies. In more heavily forested areas where lions were rare, the leopard represented the top of the hierarchy. In parts of West and East Africa, the lion is associated with healing and provides the connection between seers and the supernatural. In other East African traditions, the lion represents laziness. In much of African folklore, the lion is portrayed as having low intelligence and is easily tricked by other animals.

 

The ancient Egyptians portrayed several of their war deities as lionesses, which they revered as fierce hunters. Egyptian deities associated with lions include Sekhmet, Bast, Mafdet, Menhit, Pakhet and Tefnut. These deities were often connected with the sun god Ra and his fierce heat, and their dangerous power was invoked to guard people or sacred places. The sphinx, a figure with a lion's body and the head of a human or other creature, represented a pharaoh or deity who had taken on this protective role.

 

Asia

Roaring and striding lion from the Throne Room of Nebuchadnezzar II, 6th century BC, from Babylon, Iraq

The lion was a prominent symbol in ancient Mesopotamia from Sumer up to Assyrian and Babylonian times, where it was strongly associated with kingship. Lions were among the major symbols of the goddess Inanna/Ishtar. The Lion of Babylon was the foremost symbol of the Babylonian Empire. The Lion of Judah is the biblical emblem of the tribe of Judah and the later Kingdom of Judah. Lions are frequently mentioned in the Bible, notably in the Book of Daniel, in which the eponymous hero refuses to worship King Darius and is forced to sleep in the lions' den where he is miraculously unharmed (Dan 6). In the Book of Judges, Samson kills a lion as he travels to visit a Philistine woman.(Judg 14).

 

Indo-Persian chroniclers regarded the lion as keeper of order in the realm of animals. The Sanskrit word mrigendra signifies a lion as king of animals in general or deer in particular. Narasimha, the man-lion, is one of ten avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu. Singh is an ancient Indian vedic name meaning "lion", dating back over 2,000 years. It was originally used only by Rajputs, a Hindu Kshatriya or military caste but is used by millions of Hindu Rajputs and more than twenty million Sikhs today. The Lion Capital of Ashoka, erected by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century CE, depicts four lions standing back to back. It was made the National Emblem of India in 1950. The lion is also symbolic for the Sinhalese people, the term derived from the Sanskrit Sinhala, meaning "of lions" while a sword-wielding lion is the central figure on the national flag of Sri Lanka.

 

The lion is a common motif in Chinese art; it was first used in art during the late Spring and Autumn period (fifth or sixth century BC) and became more popular during the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) when imperial guardian lions started to be placed in front of imperial palaces for protection. Because lions have never been native to China, early depictions were somewhat unrealistic; after the introduction of Buddhist art to China in the Tang dynasty after the sixth century AD, lions were usually depicted wingless with shorter, thicker bodies and curly manes. The lion dance is a traditional dance in Chinese culture in which performers in lion costumes mimic a lion's movements, often with musical accompaniment from cymbals, drums and gongs. They are performed at Chinese New Year, the August Moon Festival and other celebratory occasions for good luck.

 

Western world

Lion-headed figures and amulets were excavated in tombs in the Greek islands of Crete, Euboea, Rhodes, Paros and Chios. They are associated with the Egyptian deity Sekhmet and date to the early Iron Age between the 9th and 6th centuries BC. Tfhe lion is featured in several of Aesop's fables, notably The Lion and the Mouse. The Nemean lion was symbolic in ancient Greece and Rome, represented as the constellation and zodiac sign Leo, and described in mythology, where it was killed and worn by the hero Heracles, symbolising victory over death. Lancelot and Gawain were also heroes slaying lions in the Middle Ages. In some medieval stories, lions were portrayed as allies and companions. "Lion" was the nickname of several medieval warrior-rulers with a reputation for bravery, such as Richard the Lionheart.

 

Lions continue to appear in modern literature as characters including the messianic Aslan in the 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, and the comedic Cowardly Lion in L. Frank Baum's 1900 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Lion symbolism was used from the advent of cinema; one of the most iconic and widely recognised lions is Leo, which has been the mascot for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios since the 1920s. The 1966 film Born Free features Elsa the lioness and is based on the book Born Free published in 1960. The lion's role as king of the beasts has been used in the 1994 Disney animated feature film The Lion King.

 

Lions are frequently depicted on coats of arms, like on the coat of arms of Finland, either as a device on shields or as supporters, but the lioness is used much less frequently. The heraldic lion is particularly common in British arms. It is traditionally depicted in a great variety of attitudes, although within French heraldry only lions rampant are considered to be lions; felined figures in any other position are instead referred to as leopards

Banana Cluster ready to eat

__________________________________________

 

A banana is an edible fruit, botanically a berry, produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. (In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called plantains.) The fruit is variable in size, color and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible parthenocarpic (seedless) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name Musa sapientum is no longer used.

 

Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in at least 107 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine and banana beer and as ornamental plants.

 

Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the simple two-fold distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

 

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants which produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa like the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), pink banana (Musa velutina) and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, like the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are classified under the banana family, Musaceae.

 

DESCRIPTION

The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant. All the above-ground parts of a banana plant grow from a structure usually called a "corm". Plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy, and are often mistaken for trees, but what appears to be a trunk is actually a "false stem" or pseudostem. Bananas grow in a wide variety of soils, as long as the soil is at least 60 cm deep, has good drainage and is not compacted. The leaves of banana plants are composed of a "stalk" (petiole) and a blade (lamina). The base of the petiole widens to form a sheath; the tightly packed sheaths make up the pseudostem, which is all that supports the plant. The edges of the sheath meet when it is first produced, making it tubular. As new growth occurs in the centre of the pseudostem the edges are forced apart. Cultivated banana plants vary in height depending on the variety and growing conditions. Most are around 5 m tall, with a range from 'Dwarf Cavendish' plants at around 3 m to 'Gros Michel' at 7 m or more. Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres long and 60 cm wide. They are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.

 

When a banana plant is mature, the corm stops producing new leaves and begins to form a flower spike or inflorescence. A stem develops which grows up inside the pseudostem, carrying the immature inflorescence until eventually it emerges at the top. Each pseudostem normally produces a single inflorescence, also known as the "banana heart". (More are sometimes produced; an exceptional plant in the Philippines produced five.) After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots will normally have developed from the base, so that the plant as a whole is perennial. In the plantation system of cultivation, only one of the offshoots will be allowed to develop in order to maintain spacing. The inflorescence contains many bracts (sometimes incorrectly referred to as petals) between rows of flowers. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem (closer to the leaves) from the rows of male flowers. The ovary is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other flower parts appear at the tip of the ovary.

 

The banana fruits develop from the banana heart, in a large hanging cluster, made up of tiers (called "hands"), with up to 20 fruit to a tier. The hanging cluster is known as a bunch, comprising 3–20 tiers, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh 30–50 kilograms. Individual banana fruits (commonly known as a banana or "finger") average 125 grams, of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter.

 

The fruit has been described as a "leathery berry". There is a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with numerous long, thin strings (the phloem bundles), which run lengthwise between the skin and the edible inner portion. The inner part of the common yellow dessert variety can be split lengthwise into three sections that correspond to the inner portions of the three carpels by manually deforming the unopened fruit. In cultivated varieties, the seeds are diminished nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit.

 

Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive, more so than most other fruits, because of their potassium content and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found in naturally occurring potassium. The banana equivalent dose of radiation is sometimes used in nuclear communication to compare radiation levels and exposures.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word banana is thought to be of West African origin, possibly from the Wolof word banaana, and passed into English via Spanish or Portuguese.

 

TAXONOMY

The genus Musa was created by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name may be derived from Antonius Musa, physician to the Emperor Augustus, or Linnaeus may have adapted the Arabic word for banana, mauz. Musa is in the family Musaceae. The APG III system assigns Musaceae to the order Zingiberales, part of the commelinid clade of the monocotyledonous flowering plants. Some 70 species of Musa were recognized by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as of January 2013; several produce edible fruit, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

 

The classification of cultivated bananas has long been a problematic issue for taxonomists. Linnaeus originally placed bananas into two species based only on their uses as food: Musa sapientum for dessert bananas and Musa paradisiaca for plantains. Subsequently further species names were added. However, this approach proved inadequate to address the sheer number of cultivars existing in the primary center of diversity of the genus, Southeast Asia. Many of these cultivars were given names which proved to be synonyms.

 

In a series of papers published in 1947 onwards, Ernest Cheesman showed that Linnaeus's Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca were actually cultivars and descendants of two wild seed-producing species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, both first described by Luigi Aloysius Colla. He recommended the abolition of Linnaeus's species in favor of reclassifying bananas according to three morphologically distinct groups of cultivars – those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa balbisiana, those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa acuminata, and those with characteristics that are the combination of the two. Researchers Norman Simmonds and Ken Shepherd proposed a genome-based nomenclature system in 1955. This system eliminated almost all the difficulties and inconsistencies of the earlier classification of bananas based on assigning scientific names to cultivated varieties. Despite this, the original names are still recognized by some authorities today, leading to confusion.

 

The currently accepted scientific names for most groups of cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata Colla and Musa balbisiana Colla for the ancestral species, and Musa × paradisiaca L. for the hybrid M. acuminata × M. balbisiana.

 

Synonyms of M. × paradisica include:

A large number of subspecific and varietial names of M. × paradisiaca, including M. p. subsp. sapientum (L.) Kuntze

Musa × dacca Horan.

Musa × sapidisiaca K.C.Jacob, nom. superfl.

Musa × sapientum L., and a large number of its varietal names, including M. × sapientum var. paradisiaca (L.) Baker, nom. illeg.

 

Generally, modern classifications of banana cultivars follow Simmonds and Shepherd's system. Cultivars are placed in groups based on the number of chromosomes they have and which species they are derived from. Thus the Latundan banana is placed in the AAB Group, showing that it is a triploid derived from both M. acuminata (A) and M. balbisiana (B). For a list of the cultivars classified under this system see List of banana cultivars.

 

In 2012, a team of scientists announced they had achieved a draft sequence of the genome of Musa acuminata.

 

BANANAS & PLANTAINS

In regions such as North America and Europe, Musa fruits offered for sale can be divided into "bananas" and "plantains", based on their intended use as food. Thus the banana producer and distributor Chiquita produces publicity material for the American market which says that "a plantain is not a banana". The stated differences are that plantains are more starchy and less sweet; they are eaten cooked rather than raw; they have thicker skin, which may be green, yellow or black; and they can be used at any stage of ripeness. Linnaeus made the same distinction between plantains and bananas when first naming two "species" of Musa. Members of the "plantain subgroup" of banana cultivars, most important as food in West Africa and Latin America, correspond to the Chiquita description, having long pointed fruit. They are described by Ploetz et al. as "true" plantains, distinct from other cooking bananas. The cooking bananas of East Africa belong to a different group, the East African Highland bananas, so would not qualify as "true" plantains on this definition.

 

An alternative approach divides bananas into dessert bananas and cooking bananas, with plantains being one of the subgroups of cooking bananas. Triploid cultivars derived solely from M. acuminata are examples of "dessert bananas", whereas triploid cultivars derived from the hybrid between M. acuminata and M. balbinosa (in particular the plantain subgroup of the AAB Group) are "plantains". Small farmers in Colombia grow a much wider range of cultivars than large commercial plantations. A study of these cultivars showed that they could be placed into at least three groups based on their characteristics: dessert bananas, non-plantain cooking bananas, and plantains, although there were overlaps between dessert and cooking bananas.

 

In Southeast Asia – the center of diversity for bananas, both wild and cultivated – the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" does not work, according to Valmayor et al. Many bananas are used both raw and cooked. There are starchy cooking bananas which are smaller than those eaten raw. The range of colors, sizes and shapes is far wider than in those grown or sold in Africa, Europe or the Americas.[35] Southeast Asian languages do not make the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" that is made in English (and Spanish). Thus both Cavendish cultivars, the classic yellow dessert bananas, and Saba cultivars, used mainly for cooking, are called pisang in Malaysia and Indonesia, kluai in Thailand and chuoi in Vietnam. Fe'i bananas, grown and eaten in the islands of the Pacific, are derived from entirely different wild species than traditional bananas and plantains. Most Fe'i bananas are cooked, but Karat bananas, which are short and squat with bright red skins, very different from the usual yellow dessert bananas, are eaten raw.

 

In summary, in commerce in Europe and the Americas (although not in small-scale cultivation), it is possible to distinguish between "bananas", which are eaten raw, and "plantains", which are cooked. In other regions of the world, particularly India, Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific, there are many more kinds of banana and the two-fold distinction is not useful and not made in local languages. Plantains are one of many kinds of cooking bananas, which are not always distinct from dessert bananas.

 

HISTORICAL CULTIVATION

Farmers in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea first domesticated bananas. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence at Kuk Swamp in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BCE, and possibly to 8000 BCE. It is likely that other species were later and independently domesticated elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is the region of primary diversity of the banana. Areas of secondary diversity are found in Africa, indicating a long history of banana cultivation in the region.

 

Phytolith discoveries in Cameroon dating to the first millennium BCE triggered an as yet unresolved debate about the date of first cultivation in Africa. There is linguistic evidence that bananas were known in Madagascar around that time. The earliest prior evidence indicates that cultivation dates to no earlier than late 6th century CE. It is likely, however, that bananas were brought at least to Madagascar if not to the East African coast during the phase of Malagasy colonization of the island from South East Asia c. 400 CE.

 

The banana may also have been present in isolated locations elsewhere in the Middle East on the eve of Islam. The spread of Islam was followed by far-reaching diffusion. There are numerous references to it in Islamic texts (such as poems and hadiths) beginning in the 9th century. By the 10th century the banana appears in texts from Palestine and Egypt. From there it diffused into North Africa and Muslim Iberia. During the medieval ages, bananas from Granada were considered among the best in the Arab world. In 650, Islamic conquerors brought the banana to Palestine. Today, banana consumption increases significantly in Islamic countries during Ramadan, the month of daylight fasting.

 

Bananas were certainly grown in the Christian Kingdom of Cyprus by the late medieval period. Writing in 1458, the Italian traveller and writer Gabriele Capodilista wrote favourably of the extensive farm produce of the estates at Episkopi, near modern day Limassol, including the region's banana plantations.

 

Bananas were introduced to the Americas by Portuguese sailors who brought the fruits from West Africa in the 16th century.

 

Many wild banana species as well as cultivars exist in extraordinary diversity in New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and the Philippines.

 

There are fuzzy bananas whose skins are bubblegum pink; green-and-white striped bananas with pulp the color of orange sherbet; bananas that, when cooked, taste like strawberries. The Double Mahoi plant can produce two bunches at once. The Chinese name of the aromatic Go San Heong banana means 'You can smell it from the next mountain.' The fingers on one banana plant grow fused; another produces bunches of a thousand fingers, each only an inch long.

—Mike Peed, The New Yorker

 

In 1999 archaeologists in London discovered what they believed to be the oldest banana in the UK, in a Tudor rubbish tip.

 

PLANTATION CULTIVATION IN THE CARIBBEAN,

CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese colonists started banana plantations in the Atlantic Islands, Brazil, and western Africa. North Americans began consuming bananas on a small scale at very high prices shortly after the Civil War, though it was only in the 1880s that it became more widespread. As late as the Victorian Era, bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they were available. Jules Verne introduces bananas to his readers with detailed descriptions in Around the World in Eighty Days (1872).

 

The earliest modern plantations originated in Jamaica and the related Western Caribbean Zone, including most of Central America. It involved the combination of modern transportation networks of steamships and railroads with the development of refrigeration that allowed bananas to have more time between harvesting and ripening. North America shippers like Lorenzo Dow Baker and Andrew Preston, the founders of the Boston Fruit Company started this process in the 1870s, but railroad builders like Minor C Keith also participated, eventually culminating in the multi-national giant corporations like today's Chiquita Brands International and Dole. These companies were monopolistic, vertically integrated (meaning they controlled growing, processing, shipping and marketing) and usually used political manipulation to build enclave economies (economies that were internally self-sufficient, virtually tax exempt, and export oriented that contribute very little to the host economy). Their political maneuvers, which gave rise to the term Banana republic for states like Honduras and Guatemala, included working with local elites and their rivalries to influence politics or playing the international interests of the United States, especially during the Cold War, to keep the political climate favorable to their interests.

 

PEASANT CULTIVATION FOR EXPORT IN THE CARIBBEAN

The vast majority of the world's bananas today are cultivated for family consumption or for sale on local markets. India is the world leader in this sort of production, but many other Asian and African countries where climate and soil conditions allow cultivation also host large populations of banana growers who sell at least some of their crop.

 

There are peasant sector banana growers who produce for the world market in the Caribbean, however. The Windward Islands are notable for the growing, largely of Cavendish bananas, for an international market, generally in Europe but also in North America. In the Caribbean, and especially in Dominica where this sort of cultivation is widespread, holdings are in the 1–2 acre range. In many cases the farmer earns additional money from other crops, from engaging in labor outside the farm, and from a share of the earnings of relatives living overseas. This style of cultivation often was popular in the islands as bananas required little labor input and brought welcome extra income. Banana crops are vulnerable to destruction by high winds, such as tropical storms or cyclones.

 

After the signing of the NAFTA agreements in the 1990s, however, the tide turned against peasant producers. Their costs of production were relatively high and the ending of favorable tariff and other supports, especially in the European Economic Community, made it difficult for peasant producers to compete with the bananas grown on large plantations by the well capitalized firms like Chiquita and Dole. Not only did the large companies have access to cheap labor in the areas they worked, but they were better able to afford modern agronomic advances such as fertilization. The "dollar banana" produced by these concerns made the profit margins for peasant bananas unsustainable.

 

Caribbean countries have sought to redress this problem by providing government supported agronomic services and helping to organize producers' cooperatives. They have also been supporters of the Fair Trade movement which seeks to balance the inequities in the world trade in commodities.

 

EAST AFRICA

Most farms supply local consumption. Cooking bananas represent a major food source and a major income source for smallhold farmers. In east Africa, highland bananas are of greatest importance as a staple food crop. In countries such as Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda per capita consumption has been estimated at 45 kilograms per year, the highest in the world.

 

MODERN CULTIVATION

All widely cultivated bananas today descend from the two wild bananas Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. While the original wild bananas contained large seeds, diploid or polyploid cultivars (some being hybrids) with tiny seeds are preferred for human raw fruit consumption. These are propagated asexually from offshoots. The plant is allowed to produce two shoots at a time; a larger one for immediate fruiting and a smaller "sucker" or "follower" to produce fruit in 6–8 months. The life of a banana plantation is 25 years or longer, during which time the individual stools or planting sites may move slightly from their original positions as lateral rhizome formation dictates.

 

Cultivated bananas are parthenocarpic, i.e. the flesh of the fruit swells and ripens without its seeds being fertilized and developing. Lacking viable seeds, propagation typically involves farmers removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a corm). Usually this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana pseudostem) with some roots intact. However, small sympodial corms, representing not yet elongated suckers, are easier to transplant and can be left out of the ground for up to two weeks; they require minimal care and can be shipped in bulk.It is not necessary to include the corm or root structure to propagate bananas; severed suckers without root material can be propagated in damp sand, although this takes somewhat longer.In some countries, commercial propagation occurs by means of tissue culture. This method is preferred since it ensures disease-free planting material. When using vegetative parts such as suckers for propagation, there is a risk of transmitting diseases (especially the devastating Panama disease).As a non-seasonal crop, bananas are available fresh year-round.

 

CAVENDISH

In global commerce in 2009, by far the most important cultivars belonged to the triploid AAA group of Musa acuminata, commonly referred to as Cavendish group bananas. They accounted for the majority of banana exports, despite only coming into existence in 1836. The cultivars Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain (Chiquita Banana) gained popularity in the 1950s after the previous mass-produced cultivar, Gros Michel (also an AAA group cultivar), became commercially unviable due to Panama disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum which attacks the roots of the banana plant. Cavendish cultivars are resistant to the Panama Disease but in 2013 there were fears that the Black Sigatoka fungus would in turn make Cavendish bananas unviable.

 

Ease of transport and shelf life rather than superior taste make the Dwarf Cavendish the main export banana.

 

Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, Gros Michel is not extinct and is still grown in areas where Panama disease is not found. Likewise, Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain are in no danger of extinction, but they may leave supermarket shelves if disease makes it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if any existing cultivar can replace Cavendish bananas, so various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs are attempting to create a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.

 

RIPENING

Export bananas are picked green, and ripen in special rooms upon arrival in the destination country. These rooms are air-tight and filled with ethylene gas to induce ripening. The vivid yellow color consumers normally associate with supermarket bananas is, in fact, caused by the artificial ripening process. Flavor and texture are also affected by ripening temperature. Bananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 °C during transport. At lower temperatures, ripening permanently stalls, and the bananas turn gray as cell walls break down. The skin of ripe bananas quickly blackens in the 4 °C environment of a domestic refrigerator, although the fruit inside remains unaffected.

 

"Tree-ripened" Cavendish bananas have a greenish-yellow appearance which changes to a brownish-yellow as they ripen further. Although both flavor and texture of tree-ripened bananas is generally regarded as superior to any type of green-picked fruit, this reduces shelf life to only 7–10 days.Bananas can be ordered by the retailer "ungassed" (i.e. not treated with ethylene), and may show up at the supermarket fully green. Guineos verdes (green bananas) that have not been gassed will never fully ripen before becoming rotten. Instead of fresh eating, these bananas are best suited to cooking, as seen in Mexican culinary dishes.A 2008 study reported that ripe bananas fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light. This property is attributed to the degradation of chlorophyll leading to the accumulation of a fluorescent product in the skin of the fruit. The chlorophyll breakdown product is stabilized by a propionate ester group. Banana-plant leaves also fluoresce in the same way. Green bananas do not fluoresce. The study suggested that this allows animals which can see light in the ultraviolet spectrum (tetrachromats and pentachromats) to more easily detect ripened bananas.

 

STORAGE & TRANSPORT

Bananas must be transported over long distances from the tropics to world markets. To obtain maximum shelf life, harvest comes before the fruit is mature. The fruit requires careful handling, rapid transport to ports, cooling, and refrigerated shipping. The goal is to prevent the bananas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethylene. This technology allows storage and transport for 3–4 weeks at 13 °C. On arrival, bananas are held at about 17 °C and treated with a low concentration of ethylene. After a few days, the fruit begins to ripen and is distributed for final sale. Unripe bananas can not be held in home refrigerators because they suffer from the cold. Ripe bananas can be held for a few days at home. If bananas are too green, they can be put in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight to speed up the ripening process.

 

Carbon dioxide (which bananas produce) and ethylene absorbents extend fruit life even at high temperatures. This effect can be exploited by packing banana in a polyethylene bag and including an ethylene absorbent, e.g., potassium permanganate, on an inert carrier. The bag is then sealed with a band or string. This treatment has been shown to more than double lifespans up to 3–4 weeks without the need for refrigeration.

 

FRUIT

Bananas are a staple starch for many tropical populations. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can vary in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from firm to mushy. Both the skin and inner part can be eaten raw or cooked. The primary component of the aroma of fresh bananas is isoamyl acetate (also known as banana oil), which, along with several other compounds such as butyl acetate and isobutyl acetate, is a significant contributor to banana flavor.

 

During the ripening process, bananas produce the gas ethylene, which acts as a plant hormone and indirectly affects the flavor. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of bananas. The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a "starchier" taste. On the other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.

 

Bananas are eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Bananas can be made into jam. Banana pancakes are popular amongst backpackers and other travelers in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This has elicited the expression Banana Pancake Trail for those places in Asia that cater to this group of travelers. Banana chips are a snack produced from sliced dehydrated or fried banana or plantain, which have a dark brown color and an intense banana taste. Dried bananas are also ground to make banana flour. Extracting juice is difficult, because when a banana is compressed, it simply turns to pulp. Bananas feature prominently in Philippine cuisine, being part of traditional dishes and desserts like maruya, turrón, and halo-halo or saba con yelo. Most of these dishes use the Saba or Cardaba banana cultivar. Bananas are also commonly used in cuisine in the South-Indian state of Kerala, where they are steamed (puzhungiyathu), made into curries, fried into chips (upperi) or fried in batter (pazhampori). Pisang goreng, bananas fried with batter similar to the Filipino maruya or Kerala pazhampori, is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. A similar dish is known in the United Kingdom and United States as banana fritters.

 

Plantains are used in various stews and curries or cooked, baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes, such as the Pazham Pachadi prepared in Kerala.

 

Seeded bananas (Musa balbisiana), one of the forerunners of the common domesticated banana, are sold in markets in Indonesia.

 

FLOWER

Banana hearts are used as a vegetable in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, either raw or steamed with dips or cooked in soups, curries and fried foods. The flavor resembles that of artichoke. As with artichokes, both the fleshy part of the bracts and the heart are edible.

 

LEAVES

Banana leaves are large, flexible, and waterproof. They are often used as ecologically friendly disposable food containers or as "plates" in South Asia and several Southeast Asian countries. In Indonesian cuisine, banana leaf is employed in cooking method called pepes and botok; the banana leaf packages containing food ingredients and spices are cooked on steam, in boiled water or grilled on charcoal. In the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in every occasion the food must be served in a banana leaf and as a part of the food a banana is served. Steamed with dishes they impart a subtle sweet flavor. They often serve as a wrapping for grilling food. The leaves contain the juices, protect food from burning and add a subtle flavor. In Tamil Nadu (India) leaves are fully dried and used as packing material for food stuffs and also making cups to hold liquid foods. In Central American countries, banana leaves are often used as wrappers for tamales.

 

TRUNK

The tender core of the banana plant's trunk is also used in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, and notably in the Burmese dish mohinga.

 

FIBER

TEXTILES

The banana plant has long been a source of fiber for high quality textiles. In Japan, banana cultivation for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. Harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare fibers for yarn-making. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, while the softest innermost fibers are desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This traditional Japanese cloth-making process requires many steps, all performed by hand.

 

In a Nepalese system the trunk is harvested instead, and small pieces are subjected to a softening process, mechanical fiber extraction, bleaching and drying. After that, the fibers are sent to the Kathmandu Valley for use in rugs with a silk-like texture. These banana fiber rugs are woven by traditional Nepalese hand-knotting methods, and are sold RugMark certified.

 

In South Indian state of Tamil Nadu after harvesting for fruit the trunk (outer layer of the shoot) is made into fine thread used in making of flower garlands instead of thread.

 

PAPER

Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is made from two different parts: the bark of the banana plant, mainly used for artistic purposes, or from the fibers of the stem and non-usable fruits. The paper is either hand-made or by industrial process.

 

WIKIPEDIA

 

Princeton University, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics

Architect: Rafael Vinoly

 

NHGRI researchers and their collaborators have identified a specific genomic signature of some aggressive prostate tumors, which may help pinpoint specific treatment options. Findings from the study were published April 15 online in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The new finding focuses on BRCA2 mutations, which are associated with breast and ovarian cancer, but also increase men's risk for prostate cancer. Both men and women can inherit a faulty BRCA2 gene from either their mother or father. When working properly, the BRCA2 gene helps stop cells from becoming cancerous by producing proteins that fix damage to DNA.

 

Credit: Ernesto del Aguila III, NHGRI.

Through NHGRI's Population Architecture Using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) program, five research teams in 2013 have received new four-year awards to study the genomics of disease susceptibility in ethnically diverse populations. Credit: Jonathan Bailey, NHGRI.

A banana is an edible fruit, botanically a berry, produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. (In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called plantains.) The fruit is variable in size, color and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible parthenocarpic (seedless) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name Musa sapientum is no longer used.

 

Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in at least 107 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine and banana beer and as ornamental plants.

 

Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the simple two-fold distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

 

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants which produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa like the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), pink banana (Musa velutina) and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, like the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are classified under the banana family, Musaceae.

 

DESCRIPTION

The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant. All the above-ground parts of a banana plant grow from a structure usually called a "corm". Plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy, and are often mistaken for trees, but what appears to be a trunk is actually a "false stem" or pseudostem. Bananas grow in a wide variety of soils, as long as the soil is at least 60 cm deep, has good drainage and is not compacted. The leaves of banana plants are composed of a "stalk" (petiole) and a blade (lamina). The base of the petiole widens to form a sheath; the tightly packed sheaths make up the pseudostem, which is all that supports the plant. The edges of the sheath meet when it is first produced, making it tubular. As new growth occurs in the centre of the pseudostem the edges are forced apart. Cultivated banana plants vary in height depending on the variety and growing conditions. Most are around 5 m tall, with a range from 'Dwarf Cavendish' plants at around 3 m to 'Gros Michel' at 7 m or more. Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres long and 60 cm wide. They are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.

 

When a banana plant is mature, the corm stops producing new leaves and begins to form a flower spike or inflorescence. A stem develops which grows up inside the pseudostem, carrying the immature inflorescence until eventually it emerges at the top. Each pseudostem normally produces a single inflorescence, also known as the "banana heart". (More are sometimes produced; an exceptional plant in the Philippines produced five.) After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots will normally have developed from the base, so that the plant as a whole is perennial. In the plantation system of cultivation, only one of the offshoots will be allowed to develop in order to maintain spacing. The inflorescence contains many bracts (sometimes incorrectly referred to as petals) between rows of flowers. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem (closer to the leaves) from the rows of male flowers. The ovary is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other flower parts appear at the tip of the ovary.

 

The banana fruits develop from the banana heart, in a large hanging cluster, made up of tiers (called "hands"), with up to 20 fruit to a tier. The hanging cluster is known as a bunch, comprising 3–20 tiers, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh 30–50 kilograms. Individual banana fruits (commonly known as a banana or "finger") average 125 grams, of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter.

 

The fruit has been described as a "leathery berry". There is a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with numerous long, thin strings (the phloem bundles), which run lengthwise between the skin and the edible inner portion. The inner part of the common yellow dessert variety can be split lengthwise into three sections that correspond to the inner portions of the three carpels by manually deforming the unopened fruit. In cultivated varieties, the seeds are diminished nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit.

 

Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive, more so than most other fruits, because of their potassium content and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found in naturally occurring potassium. The banana equivalent dose of radiation is sometimes used in nuclear communication to compare radiation levels and exposures.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word banana is thought to be of West African origin, possibly from the Wolof word banaana, and passed into English via Spanish or Portuguese.

 

TAXONOMY

The genus Musa was created by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name may be derived from Antonius Musa, physician to the Emperor Augustus, or Linnaeus may have adapted the Arabic word for banana, mauz. Musa is in the family Musaceae. The APG III system assigns Musaceae to the order Zingiberales, part of the commelinid clade of the monocotyledonous flowering plants. Some 70 species of Musa were recognized by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as of January 2013; several produce edible fruit, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

 

The classification of cultivated bananas has long been a problematic issue for taxonomists. Linnaeus originally placed bananas into two species based only on their uses as food: Musa sapientum for dessert bananas and Musa paradisiaca for plantains. Subsequently further species names were added. However, this approach proved inadequate to address the sheer number of cultivars existing in the primary center of diversity of the genus, Southeast Asia. Many of these cultivars were given names which proved to be synonyms.

 

In a series of papers published in 1947 onwards, Ernest Cheesman showed that Linnaeus's Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca were actually cultivars and descendants of two wild seed-producing species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, both first described by Luigi Aloysius Colla. He recommended the abolition of Linnaeus's species in favor of reclassifying bananas according to three morphologically distinct groups of cultivars – those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa balbisiana, those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa acuminata, and those with characteristics that are the combination of the two. Researchers Norman Simmonds and Ken Shepherd proposed a genome-based nomenclature system in 1955. This system eliminated almost all the difficulties and inconsistencies of the earlier classification of bananas based on assigning scientific names to cultivated varieties. Despite this, the original names are still recognized by some authorities today, leading to confusion.

 

The currently accepted scientific names for most groups of cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata Colla and Musa balbisiana Colla for the ancestral species, and Musa × paradisiaca L. for the hybrid M. acuminata × M. balbisiana.

 

Synonyms of M. × paradisica include:

A large number of subspecific and varietial names of M. × paradisiaca, including M. p. subsp. sapientum (L.) Kuntze

Musa × dacca Horan.

Musa × sapidisiaca K.C.Jacob, nom. superfl.

Musa × sapientum L., and a large number of its varietal names, including M. × sapientum var. paradisiaca (L.) Baker, nom. illeg.

 

Generally, modern classifications of banana cultivars follow Simmonds and Shepherd's system. Cultivars are placed in groups based on the number of chromosomes they have and which species they are derived from. Thus the Latundan banana is placed in the AAB Group, showing that it is a triploid derived from both M. acuminata (A) and M. balbisiana (B). For a list of the cultivars classified under this system see List of banana cultivars.

 

In 2012, a team of scientists announced they had achieved a draft sequence of the genome of Musa acuminata.

 

BANANAS & PLANTAINS

In regions such as North America and Europe, Musa fruits offered for sale can be divided into "bananas" and "plantains", based on their intended use as food. Thus the banana producer and distributor Chiquita produces publicity material for the American market which says that "a plantain is not a banana". The stated differences are that plantains are more starchy and less sweet; they are eaten cooked rather than raw; they have thicker skin, which may be green, yellow or black; and they can be used at any stage of ripeness. Linnaeus made the same distinction between plantains and bananas when first naming two "species" of Musa. Members of the "plantain subgroup" of banana cultivars, most important as food in West Africa and Latin America, correspond to the Chiquita description, having long pointed fruit. They are described by Ploetz et al. as "true" plantains, distinct from other cooking bananas. The cooking bananas of East Africa belong to a different group, the East African Highland bananas, so would not qualify as "true" plantains on this definition.

 

An alternative approach divides bananas into dessert bananas and cooking bananas, with plantains being one of the subgroups of cooking bananas. Triploid cultivars derived solely from M. acuminata are examples of "dessert bananas", whereas triploid cultivars derived from the hybrid between M. acuminata and M. balbinosa (in particular the plantain subgroup of the AAB Group) are "plantains". Small farmers in Colombia grow a much wider range of cultivars than large commercial plantations. A study of these cultivars showed that they could be placed into at least three groups based on their characteristics: dessert bananas, non-plantain cooking bananas, and plantains, although there were overlaps between dessert and cooking bananas.

 

In Southeast Asia – the center of diversity for bananas, both wild and cultivated – the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" does not work, according to Valmayor et al. Many bananas are used both raw and cooked. There are starchy cooking bananas which are smaller than those eaten raw. The range of colors, sizes and shapes is far wider than in those grown or sold in Africa, Europe or the Americas.[35] Southeast Asian languages do not make the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" that is made in English (and Spanish). Thus both Cavendish cultivars, the classic yellow dessert bananas, and Saba cultivars, used mainly for cooking, are called pisang in Malaysia and Indonesia, kluai in Thailand and chuoi in Vietnam. Fe'i bananas, grown and eaten in the islands of the Pacific, are derived from entirely different wild species than traditional bananas and plantains. Most Fe'i bananas are cooked, but Karat bananas, which are short and squat with bright red skins, very different from the usual yellow dessert bananas, are eaten raw.

 

In summary, in commerce in Europe and the Americas (although not in small-scale cultivation), it is possible to distinguish between "bananas", which are eaten raw, and "plantains", which are cooked. In other regions of the world, particularly India, Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific, there are many more kinds of banana and the two-fold distinction is not useful and not made in local languages. Plantains are one of many kinds of cooking bananas, which are not always distinct from dessert bananas.

 

HISTORICAL CULTIVATION

Farmers in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea first domesticated bananas. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence at Kuk Swamp in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BCE, and possibly to 8000 BCE. It is likely that other species were later and independently domesticated elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is the region of primary diversity of the banana. Areas of secondary diversity are found in Africa, indicating a long history of banana cultivation in the region.

 

Phytolith discoveries in Cameroon dating to the first millennium BCE triggered an as yet unresolved debate about the date of first cultivation in Africa. There is linguistic evidence that bananas were known in Madagascar around that time. The earliest prior evidence indicates that cultivation dates to no earlier than late 6th century CE. It is likely, however, that bananas were brought at least to Madagascar if not to the East African coast during the phase of Malagasy colonization of the island from South East Asia c. 400 CE.

 

The banana may also have been present in isolated locations elsewhere in the Middle East on the eve of Islam. The spread of Islam was followed by far-reaching diffusion. There are numerous references to it in Islamic texts (such as poems and hadiths) beginning in the 9th century. By the 10th century the banana appears in texts from Palestine and Egypt. From there it diffused into North Africa and Muslim Iberia. During the medieval ages, bananas from Granada were considered among the best in the Arab world. In 650, Islamic conquerors brought the banana to Palestine. Today, banana consumption increases significantly in Islamic countries during Ramadan, the month of daylight fasting.

 

Bananas were certainly grown in the Christian Kingdom of Cyprus by the late medieval period. Writing in 1458, the Italian traveller and writer Gabriele Capodilista wrote favourably of the extensive farm produce of the estates at Episkopi, near modern day Limassol, including the region's banana plantations.

 

Bananas were introduced to the Americas by Portuguese sailors who brought the fruits from West Africa in the 16th century.

 

Many wild banana species as well as cultivars exist in extraordinary diversity in New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and the Philippines.

 

There are fuzzy bananas whose skins are bubblegum pink; green-and-white striped bananas with pulp the color of orange sherbet; bananas that, when cooked, taste like strawberries. The Double Mahoi plant can produce two bunches at once. The Chinese name of the aromatic Go San Heong banana means 'You can smell it from the next mountain.' The fingers on one banana plant grow fused; another produces bunches of a thousand fingers, each only an inch long.

—Mike Peed, The New Yorker

 

In 1999 archaeologists in London discovered what they believed to be the oldest banana in the UK, in a Tudor rubbish tip.

 

PLANTATION CULTIVATION IN THE CARIBBEAN,

CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese colonists started banana plantations in the Atlantic Islands, Brazil, and western Africa. North Americans began consuming bananas on a small scale at very high prices shortly after the Civil War, though it was only in the 1880s that it became more widespread. As late as the Victorian Era, bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they were available. Jules Verne introduces bananas to his readers with detailed descriptions in Around the World in Eighty Days (1872).

 

The earliest modern plantations originated in Jamaica and the related Western Caribbean Zone, including most of Central America. It involved the combination of modern transportation networks of steamships and railroads with the development of refrigeration that allowed bananas to have more time between harvesting and ripening. North America shippers like Lorenzo Dow Baker and Andrew Preston, the founders of the Boston Fruit Company started this process in the 1870s, but railroad builders like Minor C Keith also participated, eventually culminating in the multi-national giant corporations like today's Chiquita Brands International and Dole. These companies were monopolistic, vertically integrated (meaning they controlled growing, processing, shipping and marketing) and usually used political manipulation to build enclave economies (economies that were internally self-sufficient, virtually tax exempt, and export oriented that contribute very little to the host economy). Their political maneuvers, which gave rise to the term Banana republic for states like Honduras and Guatemala, included working with local elites and their rivalries to influence politics or playing the international interests of the United States, especially during the Cold War, to keep the political climate favorable to their interests.

 

PEASANT CULTIVATION FOR EXPORT IN THE CARIBBEAN

The vast majority of the world's bananas today are cultivated for family consumption or for sale on local markets. India is the world leader in this sort of production, but many other Asian and African countries where climate and soil conditions allow cultivation also host large populations of banana growers who sell at least some of their crop.

 

There are peasant sector banana growers who produce for the world market in the Caribbean, however. The Windward Islands are notable for the growing, largely of Cavendish bananas, for an international market, generally in Europe but also in North America. In the Caribbean, and especially in Dominica where this sort of cultivation is widespread, holdings are in the 1–2 acre range. In many cases the farmer earns additional money from other crops, from engaging in labor outside the farm, and from a share of the earnings of relatives living overseas. This style of cultivation often was popular in the islands as bananas required little labor input and brought welcome extra income. Banana crops are vulnerable to destruction by high winds, such as tropical storms or cyclones.

 

After the signing of the NAFTA agreements in the 1990s, however, the tide turned against peasant producers. Their costs of production were relatively high and the ending of favorable tariff and other supports, especially in the European Economic Community, made it difficult for peasant producers to compete with the bananas grown on large plantations by the well capitalized firms like Chiquita and Dole. Not only did the large companies have access to cheap labor in the areas they worked, but they were better able to afford modern agronomic advances such as fertilization. The "dollar banana" produced by these concerns made the profit margins for peasant bananas unsustainable.

 

Caribbean countries have sought to redress this problem by providing government supported agronomic services and helping to organize producers' cooperatives. They have also been supporters of the Fair Trade movement which seeks to balance the inequities in the world trade in commodities.

 

EAST AFRICA

Most farms supply local consumption. Cooking bananas represent a major food source and a major income source for smallhold farmers. In east Africa, highland bananas are of greatest importance as a staple food crop. In countries such as Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda per capita consumption has been estimated at 45 kilograms per year, the highest in the world.

 

MODERN CULTIVATION

All widely cultivated bananas today descend from the two wild bananas Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. While the original wild bananas contained large seeds, diploid or polyploid cultivars (some being hybrids) with tiny seeds are preferred for human raw fruit consumption. These are propagated asexually from offshoots. The plant is allowed to produce two shoots at a time; a larger one for immediate fruiting and a smaller "sucker" or "follower" to produce fruit in 6–8 months. The life of a banana plantation is 25 years or longer, during which time the individual stools or planting sites may move slightly from their original positions as lateral rhizome formation dictates.

 

Cultivated bananas are parthenocarpic, i.e. the flesh of the fruit swells and ripens without its seeds being fertilized and developing. Lacking viable seeds, propagation typically involves farmers removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a corm). Usually this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana pseudostem) with some roots intact. However, small sympodial corms, representing not yet elongated suckers, are easier to transplant and can be left out of the ground for up to two weeks; they require minimal care and can be shipped in bulk.It is not necessary to include the corm or root structure to propagate bananas; severed suckers without root material can be propagated in damp sand, although this takes somewhat longer.In some countries, commercial propagation occurs by means of tissue culture. This method is preferred since it ensures disease-free planting material. When using vegetative parts such as suckers for propagation, there is a risk of transmitting diseases (especially the devastating Panama disease).As a non-seasonal crop, bananas are available fresh year-round.

 

CAVENDISH

In global commerce in 2009, by far the most important cultivars belonged to the triploid AAA group of Musa acuminata, commonly referred to as Cavendish group bananas. They accounted for the majority of banana exports, despite only coming into existence in 1836. The cultivars Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain (Chiquita Banana) gained popularity in the 1950s after the previous mass-produced cultivar, Gros Michel (also an AAA group cultivar), became commercially unviable due to Panama disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum which attacks the roots of the banana plant. Cavendish cultivars are resistant to the Panama Disease but in 2013 there were fears that the Black Sigatoka fungus would in turn make Cavendish bananas unviable.

 

Ease of transport and shelf life rather than superior taste make the Dwarf Cavendish the main export banana.

 

Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, Gros Michel is not extinct and is still grown in areas where Panama disease is not found. Likewise, Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain are in no danger of extinction, but they may leave supermarket shelves if disease makes it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if any existing cultivar can replace Cavendish bananas, so various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs are attempting to create a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.

 

RIPENING

Export bananas are picked green, and ripen in special rooms upon arrival in the destination country. These rooms are air-tight and filled with ethylene gas to induce ripening. The vivid yellow color consumers normally associate with supermarket bananas is, in fact, caused by the artificial ripening process. Flavor and texture are also affected by ripening temperature. Bananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 °C during transport. At lower temperatures, ripening permanently stalls, and the bananas turn gray as cell walls break down. The skin of ripe bananas quickly blackens in the 4 °C environment of a domestic refrigerator, although the fruit inside remains unaffected.

 

"Tree-ripened" Cavendish bananas have a greenish-yellow appearance which changes to a brownish-yellow as they ripen further. Although both flavor and texture of tree-ripened bananas is generally regarded as superior to any type of green-picked fruit, this reduces shelf life to only 7–10 days.Bananas can be ordered by the retailer "ungassed" (i.e. not treated with ethylene), and may show up at the supermarket fully green. Guineos verdes (green bananas) that have not been gassed will never fully ripen before becoming rotten. Instead of fresh eating, these bananas are best suited to cooking, as seen in Mexican culinary dishes.A 2008 study reported that ripe bananas fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light. This property is attributed to the degradation of chlorophyll leading to the accumulation of a fluorescent product in the skin of the fruit. The chlorophyll breakdown product is stabilized by a propionate ester group. Banana-plant leaves also fluoresce in the same way. Green bananas do not fluoresce. The study suggested that this allows animals which can see light in the ultraviolet spectrum (tetrachromats and pentachromats) to more easily detect ripened bananas.

 

STORAGE & TRANSPORT

Bananas must be transported over long distances from the tropics to world markets. To obtain maximum shelf life, harvest comes before the fruit is mature. The fruit requires careful handling, rapid transport to ports, cooling, and refrigerated shipping. The goal is to prevent the bananas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethylene. This technology allows storage and transport for 3–4 weeks at 13 °C. On arrival, bananas are held at about 17 °C and treated with a low concentration of ethylene. After a few days, the fruit begins to ripen and is distributed for final sale. Unripe bananas can not be held in home refrigerators because they suffer from the cold. Ripe bananas can be held for a few days at home. If bananas are too green, they can be put in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight to speed up the ripening process.

 

Carbon dioxide (which bananas produce) and ethylene absorbents extend fruit life even at high temperatures. This effect can be exploited by packing banana in a polyethylene bag and including an ethylene absorbent, e.g., potassium permanganate, on an inert carrier. The bag is then sealed with a band or string. This treatment has been shown to more than double lifespans up to 3–4 weeks without the need for refrigeration.

 

FRUIT

Bananas are a staple starch for many tropical populations. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can vary in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from firm to mushy. Both the skin and inner part can be eaten raw or cooked. The primary component of the aroma of fresh bananas is isoamyl acetate (also known as banana oil), which, along with several other compounds such as butyl acetate and isobutyl acetate, is a significant contributor to banana flavor.

 

During the ripening process, bananas produce the gas ethylene, which acts as a plant hormone and indirectly affects the flavor. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of bananas. The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a "starchier" taste. On the other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.

 

Bananas are eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Bananas can be made into jam. Banana pancakes are popular amongst backpackers and other travelers in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This has elicited the expression Banana Pancake Trail for those places in Asia that cater to this group of travelers. Banana chips are a snack produced from sliced dehydrated or fried banana or plantain, which have a dark brown color and an intense banana taste. Dried bananas are also ground to make banana flour. Extracting juice is difficult, because when a banana is compressed, it simply turns to pulp. Bananas feature prominently in Philippine cuisine, being part of traditional dishes and desserts like maruya, turrón, and halo-halo or saba con yelo. Most of these dishes use the Saba or Cardaba banana cultivar. Bananas are also commonly used in cuisine in the South-Indian state of Kerala, where they are steamed (puzhungiyathu), made into curries, fried into chips (upperi) or fried in batter (pazhampori). Pisang goreng, bananas fried with batter similar to the Filipino maruya or Kerala pazhampori, is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. A similar dish is known in the United Kingdom and United States as banana fritters.

 

Plantains are used in various stews and curries or cooked, baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes, such as the Pazham Pachadi prepared in Kerala.

 

Seeded bananas (Musa balbisiana), one of the forerunners of the common domesticated banana, are sold in markets in Indonesia.

 

FLOWER

Banana hearts are used as a vegetable in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, either raw or steamed with dips or cooked in soups, curries and fried foods. The flavor resembles that of artichoke. As with artichokes, both the fleshy part of the bracts and the heart are edible.

 

LEAVES

Banana leaves are large, flexible, and waterproof. They are often used as ecologically friendly disposable food containers or as "plates" in South Asia and several Southeast Asian countries. In Indonesian cuisine, banana leaf is employed in cooking method called pepes and botok; the banana leaf packages containing food ingredients and spices are cooked on steam, in boiled water or grilled on charcoal. In the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in every occasion the food must be served in a banana leaf and as a part of the food a banana is served. Steamed with dishes they impart a subtle sweet flavor. They often serve as a wrapping for grilling food. The leaves contain the juices, protect food from burning and add a subtle flavor. In Tamil Nadu (India) leaves are fully dried and used as packing material for food stuffs and also making cups to hold liquid foods. In Central American countries, banana leaves are often used as wrappers for tamales.

 

TRUNK

The tender core of the banana plant's trunk is also used in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, and notably in the Burmese dish mohinga.

 

FIBER

TEXTILES

The banana plant has long been a source of fiber for high quality textiles. In Japan, banana cultivation for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. Harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare fibers for yarn-making. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, while the softest innermost fibers are desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This traditional Japanese cloth-making process requires many steps, all performed by hand.

 

In a Nepalese system the trunk is harvested instead, and small pieces are subjected to a softening process, mechanical fiber extraction, bleaching and drying. After that, the fibers are sent to the Kathmandu Valley for use in rugs with a silk-like texture. These banana fiber rugs are woven by traditional Nepalese hand-knotting methods, and are sold RugMark certified.

 

In South Indian state of Tamil Nadu after harvesting for fruit the trunk (outer layer of the shoot) is made into fine thread used in making of flower garlands instead of thread.

 

PAPER

Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is made from two different parts: the bark of the banana plant, mainly used for artistic purposes, or from the fibers of the stem and non-usable fruits. The paper is either hand-made or by industrial process.

  

I just heard an update on the SGVI phage program from Sammy Farah and Craig Venter at SGI in La Jolla.

 

Phage are viruses that attack bacterial cells but not mammalian ones, exquisitely tuned to attack a specific host bacteria by rapid evolution.

 

Phage are the most abundant organism on Earth, and amazingly, they kill 50% of all bacteria on Earth every 48 hours!

 

From the Economist, reporting on SGI:

“Dr Farah and his colleagues, by contrast, are able to synthesise viruses from scratch, using off-the-shelf chemicals. They can thus design them precisely, down to the last atom.

 

These phages will be giant self-replicating drug molecules that automatically calibrate the size of their dose—for, when all of the target bacteria have been killed, they can no longer breed. The benefit, from the patient’s point of view, is help for an infection that is currently untreatable

 

Bacteria have their own immune systems that recognise and destroy viral genes. This leads to an arms race as the viral genes evolve to evade detection. Dr Farah thinks he can give his viruses a head start, slowing down the evolution of resistance.”

 

From www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21645122-wa...

 

More: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109452/

And en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophage

Dr. Eric Lander is a geneticist, mathematician, and one of the key architects of modern genomics. As a driving force behind the Human Genome Project, his work has revolutionized biomedical research, enabling breakthroughs in personalized medicine, disease prevention, and genetic diagnostics. His ability to synthesize biology with computational analysis has reshaped how scientists approach complex biological systems.

 

I photographed Lander on October 12, 2023, at the Broad Institute, a research powerhouse that he helped design. The building itself is a testament to his vision—open, interconnected, and brimming with the collaborative spirit necessary for innovation. As we moved through the space, we discussed the far-reaching impact of genomics on medicine, the ethical challenges of gene editing, and the role of science in shaping public policy.

Lander’s contributions extend beyond research. He has been a prominent science advisor to government leaders, advocating for evidence-based decision-making in public health, climate science, and technological innovation. His tenure as the first Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Biden administration reinforced his commitment to integrating rigorous science into governance.

 

Our conversation wandered through intricate shadows and bright beams of sunlight, much like the nature of scientific discovery—moments of clarity interspersed with deep complexity. Lander’s perspective on innovation is both pragmatic and ambitious: he sees biology as a vast, untapped frontier where computation, engineering, and fundamental research can converge to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges.

 

With a career spanning decades, Lander continues to influence the next generation of scientists. His work at the Broad Institute ensures that genomic research remains at the cutting edge, fostering discoveries that will redefine our understanding of health and disease. His legacy is one of relentless curiosity and an unshakable belief in the power of science to transform the world.