I'm glad that my kids like to eat healthy, and that it doesn't take a lot of convincing for them to eat their fruits and vegetables. I'll visit the market a couple of times a week just to pick up stuff like baby carrots, broccoli, apples, and bananas. It's interesting how much we think we know about things like bananas, but other than being curved and yellow and good with peanut butter sandwiches, do we really know as much as we think we do?

Well I thought than bananas grew on trees. What I didn't know was that the banana tree wasn't really a tree at all, but in fact its an herbaceous plant (from the genus Musa). Yes, a banana is still a fruit (not an herb), but I didn't know that the leaves from the banana tree were cultivated as well as the fruit. The banana tree leaf is actually cultivated for its oil, and is used in a wide variety of cooking. The leaf itself is also used in some Chinese cooking, both as part of the food, and as a wrap for some others.

What I was also unaware of was that bananas also came in red and in purple, although the red banana tree is grown more as an ornamental or decorative plant, as its fruit isn't as pleasant as the "traditional" yellow banana.

So the next time you are at the supermarket, and you see a bunch of bananas, you'll have a somewhat better understanding of this curious yellow fruit, even if it still tastes the same on your sundae despite your additional knowledge of its origins.