flowering banana

Rosy fringe

This ornamental banana grows in the warmest parts of Southeast Asia. As banana plants go this is only a small species growing to a maximum height of 3m.

The pinky-white flowers appear in its first year and are surrounded by pink bracts, which add an extra adornment to the inflorescence. Pink fruits then emerge from these flowers. These strikingly coloured bananas are hard to eat because of their many hard seeds. The green leathery leaves with distinct veins also have a rosy glow.

Since it can be very windy in the Asian lowlands, the leaves of the ornamental banana fray easy to catch less wind. In the past parts of the plant were burned and taken aboard merchant ships. A solution of this banana ash was taken by the crew to prevent scurvy.