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by Alatea on November 15th, 2005
“Bananas are curved because of the phototropic chemical Auxin which makes them grow towards the sun. Bananas like most other plants contain Chlorophyll which has a green pigment, this absorbs the green from natural sunlight and is used in photosynthesis. When bananas ripen, we see them turn yellow. This process of turning yellow is a result of the deterioration of the membrane of the chlorophyll. Once the protective membrane is gone, various enzymes act on the Vitamin A in the banana to produce its yellow colour.”
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1690846
Edit - Tom Diller - Upward and toward the sun is the correct answer.
The “trunk” of the banana plant is actually a densely packed group of concentric leaves, a pseudostem. After the banana plant has grown about thirty leaves, the fruit stem shoots through them from the rhizome and emerges as a terminal inflorescence (a group of flowers at the tip of the stem). The fruit stem matures three to four months after its emergence. Flower bracts soon cover the stem and then roll back almost daily, each exposing a “hand” of bananas. At the beginning of their development, the little hands grow downward, but as they grow, they turn their fingers towards the sun and appear to be growing upside down. This phenomenon is called “negative geotropism.
http://www.whatprice.co.uk/gardening/bananas-growing.html
The following link shows a photo and it's upwards for the bananas!!
http://www.banana.com/farming.html
by Anonymous on November 16th, 2005
It is created that way to give you a handel so you can play make believe cowboys and indians.
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Comments
Interesting. I never knew that. I thought it was so we could play telephone.
by Max Power on November 15th, 2005
Thanks for sharing this.
by snowflake1556 on November 16th, 2005
I don't think so. Have you ever seen bananas growing on a tree? They are clustered together with the bananas growing down
by JackNicklaus on November 16th, 2005
Tom Diller...where is your answer?? Sounds right to me SS!
by mike blair on December 7th, 2005
She's right: Bananas do grow upwards.
by Shabba on February 20th, 2006