Banana, common name for any of a genus of tropical, treelike herbs and also for their fruit. Species of the genus are native to Southeast Asia but are now grown extensively in all tropical countries for their fruit, fiber, or foliage. The banana is a large, herbaceous plant with a perennial root, or rhizome, from which the plant is perpetuated by sprouts or suckers. In the tropics the stems are annual—that is, they die after perfecting the fruit, and new stems are developed from buds in the rootstock. These stems, or buds, are the common means of propagating and making new plantations, and the growth is so rapid that the fruit is usually ripe within ten months after the offsets are planted. When fully grown the stem attains a height of 3 to 12 m (10 to 40 ft) and is surmounted by a crown of large oval leaves up to 3 m (10 ft) long, with a strong fleshy footstalk and midrib. The flowers spring in great spikes from the center of the crown of leaves and are arranged in whorl-like clusters along the spike; the female flowers occupy the base of the spike, and the male the apex. The fruits vary in length from about 10 to 30 cm (about 4 to 12 in). The average weight of a bunch is about 11 kg (about 25 lb), but individual bunches often exceed 18 kg (40 lb). A stalk bears only once, dies down, and is replaced by sprouts, two or three of which are allowed to bear fruit.

The fruit of the plantain, or cooking banana, is larger, coarser, and less sweet than the kinds that are generally eaten raw. The edible part of the banana contains, on the average, 75 percent water, 21 percent carbohydrate, and about 1 percent each of fat, protein, fiber, and ash. Other parts of the plant abound in fiber, which can be used in the manufacture of paper and cordage. One species is the source of Manila hemp.

Half of the world's banana crops are grown in Asia, and much of the produce is used locally. The leading banana-export regions are Central America and northern South America.

Scientific classification: Bananas make up the genus Musa of the family Musaceae. The plantain, or cooking banana, is classified as Musa paradisiaca. The Manila hemp is classified as Musa textilis.