Ae Ae Bananas
(image via: Forest and Kim Starr)
It’s not exactly clear where strikingly variegated Ae Ae bananas first originated though these days they can be found in Hawaii and parts of Florida. Both the fruits and the leaves of the plant display bands of light green, gray or even white which makes the plant much in demand as an ornamental planting. This is a relatively new banana cultivar, however, and the genetics responsible for its unique appearance haven’t been fully worked out as yet.
Rhino Horn Bananas
(image via: chipmunk_1)
With fruits reaching lengths of up to 2 feet (though most are “only” 12-14 inches), Rhino Horn bananas are the longest of all banana cultivars. The fruit is a hybrid of two ancestral seeded wild bananas (Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata), grown in Africa and, more recently, in Southeast Asia.
(image via: Danumurthi Mahendra)
These bananas are considered by some to be plantains though they can be eaten raw or cooked according to one’s own preferences. Steamed Rhino Horn bananas are a sweet treat too few of us have had the pleasure of enjoying! The plants themselves are attractive and are occasionally used as ornamentals in tropical landscape plantings.
