BANANA

banana. Banana, n. >[accented a as in ask] a species of plaintain

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Ba‐na″na (bȧ‐nä″nȧ; 277), n. [[Sp. banana, name of the fruit.]] (Bot.) A perennial herbaceous plant of almost treelike size (Musa sapientum); also, its edible fruit. See Musa. ☞ The banana has a soft, herbaceous stalk, with leaves of great length and breadth. The flowers grow in bunches, covered with a sheath of a green or purple color; the fruit is five or six inches long, and over an inch in diameter; the pulp is soft, and of a luscious taste, and is eaten either raw or cooked. This plant is a native of tropical countries, and furnishes an important article of food. Banana bird (Zoöl.), a small American bird (Icterus leucopteryx), which feeds on the banana. — Banana quit (Zoöl.), a small bird of tropical America, of the genus Certhiola, allied to the creepers.