Banana Flowers
Banana flowers |
The banana tree (Musa sp.) is essentially a large herb most notable for its fruits. The large flowers are in many cases dioecious, that is the female and male flowers are present in the same plant. The inflorescence initially starts out at the tip of the plant. In the beginning, it is erect but eventually bends downwards. At first, only the female banana flowers develop in cluster around the thick long stalk. They are often referred as hands, and each finger will eventually become the fruit. As the fruits develop, the stalk continues to grow, and the male flowers will appear near the end, at the axil of the conspicuous bracts.