Is a Banana a Herb?

by Sonya
(South Australia)

Hi

I have a banana tree in my yard and was asked by a friend is a banana a herb or is a banana a fruit? I have no idea!

Thanks for your great question Sonya.

Is Banana a herb? Or is Banana a fruit?

Here’s the answer:

The banana itself IS a fruit (and a delicious one at that).

in Australia you cannot grow a banana tree from the fruit as the seeds in commercial fruit are usually sterile.

The tree, however, is not a tree but an herbaceous plant or 'herb'. The stem of the "tree" does not contain true woody tissue, therefore is not classed as a tree.

From www.abgc.org.au/?general/faq - "A technical definition of the banana plant? A giant herbaceous monocotyledonous perennial with a horizontal underground rhizome of the Genus Musa." Now that’s a mouthful!

When it comes to Bananas – they’re healthy, they taste good and they’re great in smoothies and cakes.

So now we’ve sorted that out, get some over ripe bananas and whip up a banana cake Yum!