Bananas Don’t Grow on Trees

Misbar’s investigation found that the Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiaana, which grow nearly all species of edible bananas, are actually herbaceous plants. Bananas are curved, starchy, and covered in a rind; the species is native to Indomalaya and Australia. 

Although the plant that sprouts bananas is often called a tree – even famously sprouting the “Under the Banana Tree” children’s song (below) – its stem makes it an herb, not a tree.

According to PBS: “While the banana plant is colloquially called a banana tree, it’s actually an herb distantly related to ginger, since the plant has a succulent tree stem, instead of a wood one.”

Botanically, bananas are considered berries. The fruit part of a banana is actually the skin.