Banana seeds
Cyndi:
Well, experience is usually better than "book learnin' " when it comes to
gardening. I did however, find the following, presumably reliable,
information at the website of the University of Florida Cooperative
Extension's website at:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/scripts/htmlgen.exe?DOCUMENT_MG040
Since this was taken out of context, I added the parts in brackets to make it
easier to understand.
"There are two species of [edible] banana, Musa acuminata and M. balbisiana ,
and
most banana cultivars are hybrids of these species. Banana cultivars
vary greatly in plant and fruit size, plant morphology, fruit quality,
and disease and insect resistance. Most bananas have a sweet flavor when
ripe; exceptions to this are cooking bananas and plantains.
Plantains are hybrid bananas in which the male flowering axis is either
degenerated, lacking, or possesses relicts of male flowers. Plantains
are always cooked before consumption and are higher in starch than
bananas. The two groups of plantains, French and Horn, produce fewer
fruit per plant than sweet bananas. The groups differ in whether the
male parts of the inflorescence are persistent or absent.
The banana inflorescence (flowering stalk) emerges from the center of the
pseudostem 10 to 15 months after planting; by this time 26 to 32 leaves have
been produced. The process of banana flowering is called shooting. The
flowers appear spirally along the axis of the inflorescence in groups of 10
to 20, covered by
purplish-to-greenish fleshy bracts which shed as flowering development
progresses. The first flowers to emerge are functionally female. In the
edible cultivars, the rapidly growing ovaries develop parthenocarpically
(without pollination) into clusters of fruits, called "hands." Although most
banana cultivars produce seedless fruit, some are fertile and can set seed.
The last flowers to emerge are functionally male. In
plantains, the male part of the inflorescence and/or male flowers may be
absent or greatly reduced.
There are many banana cultivars. Parents of the cultivated types are
Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, two wild species which are usually
seedy. [Most edible] banana cultivars are [however] complex diploid,
triploid, and tetraploid hybrids among M. acuminata and M. balbisiana . In
general, those with a
high proportion of M. acuminata produce sweet fruit, whereas those with a
high proportion of M. balbisiana produce starchy fruit.
Conventionally, the relative contribution of M. acuminata and M.
balbisiana to the cultivar is indicated with As and Bs, respectively.
They are further classified as to the presence of one or more sets of
chromosomes (called ploidy level). For example, an AB is diploid, an
AAB, triploid, and ABBB, tetraploid. Triploid cultivars are the most
common, diploids somewhat less common, and tetraploids, uncommon."
So, my guess is that the seedy bananas you have encountered were either one
of the "wild" types, or one of the rare hybrids that are fertile. Most of
the cultivated types of edible bananas, however, need no special treatment to
keep them from producing seeds, as they are physically incapable of doing so.
Hope this helps.
Kurt
