By Heidi Lindberg
Michigan is home to many thriving fruit industries including apples, blueberries, cherries, grapes and peaches. However, our temperate climate is not suited to other popular fruits such as bananas, dragon fruit and pineapples. Do you know where those fruits are grown or about other lesser-known tropical fruits? Tropical fruits are diverse, tasty and provide important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
To learn more about tropical fruit production, Michigan State University’s study abroad course, “Tropical Horticulture of Costa Rica,” visited Ark Botanical Garden in in Santa Bárbara de Heredia, Costa Rica and Finca Ecoorganica Sarapiquí in Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. Participants in the course had a chance to learn about the production of tropical fruits and taste (Photo 2) new and exciting varieties. Michigan State University Extension explains ten tropical fruits, how they grow and their health benefits:
Bananas
There are hundreds of varieties of bananas (Musa spp.) grown in tropical climates. Bananas were thought to be domesticated and cultivated in New Guinea over 6,000 years ago and brought to the Americas by European explorers. The banana plant is actually an herb that grows large water-filled stems 10-20 feet high. Cultivated bananas are seedless fruits and are propagated through cloning. The plant sends down huge inflorescences of yellow flowers covered by red bracts (Photo 3). “Hands” or clusters of bananas form under each of the bracts (Photo 4). They are picked once mature (Photo 5) and transported (Photo 6) for packing. The majority of imported dessert bananas to non-tropical countries are now Cavendish bananas, the familiar smooth banana with green-to-yellow skin and light-yellow flesh. It is popular for shipping because of its flavor and availability year-round. Bananas are a good source of fiber, potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.
Pink banana
Pink bananas (Musa velutina) (Photo 7) are an uncultivated banana species that native to India and Myanmar, it was brought to Costa Rica as an ornamental plant due to its bright pink fruit clusters. The fruit is starchy, not tasty and contains large, hard seeds (Photo 8). It is heavily eaten and spread by birds, bats and monkeys. It has escaped ornamental plantings and is now considered invasive in Costa Rica. This species of banana is not edible by humans, but the wildlife love it.
Source : msu.edu