August 27 – National Banana Day, Maria van Oosterwijck, Edwin James, Emil Christian Hansen, Brian Lawrence Burtt, Alice Waters, Sarah Orne Jewett, Nueva Salsa by Rafael Palomino, Tall Herbs, and Cut Flowers with Ruth Cameron

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Monologue

Today is National Banana Lovers Day.

Botanically speaking, the banana is a berry - a many-seeded fruit.

And, banana trees are not trees. The banana plant is a giant herb. Inside the guts of the banana tree trunk is a white tube. It may be cooked and tastes like bamboo shoots.

Under a black light (ultraviolet or UV), ripe bananas glow a beautiful bright blue. Scientists believe this is a signal to banana-eating animals like insects and bats that can see UV light.

In 1690, the first shipments of bananas reached Salem, Massachusetts. They tried boiling them with pork. Needless to say, it took another 200 years for bananas to catch on in North America.

Today, the average U.S. banana consumption is almost 30 pounds per year.

Until the early 1800s in Hawaii, most banana varieties were 'kapu' - forbidden for women of Hawaii to eat, under penalty of death.

Bananas are facing a massive threat in the form of a pathogenic fungus called Fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (TR4) or Panama Disease. TR4 was first discovered in Taiwan in the 1990s. It has slowly spread around the world.

Just this month, on August 8th, researchers confirmed that TR4 is infecting banana plants in Latin America - Colombia declared a national state of emergency.

This may seem extreme or overreactive to people who don't realize that the fungus TR4 has been in the soil for decades, making the land unlivable for future banana crops. TR4 first attacks the roots before spreading through the rest of the plant. Unfortunately, fungicides do not work against the disease.

Thanks to Sir Joseph Paxton, the English gardener, architect, and politician, who cultivated the Cavendish banana, which he named after William Cavendish, the 6th Duke of Devonshire, who fancied them. In November 1935, five years after receiving a specimen imported from Mauritius, Joseph Paxton's plant finally flowered, and by the following May, it was loaded with more than 100 bananas, one of which won a medal at that year's Horticultural Society show.

Today, bananas still grow on the Devonshire estate, and the Cavendish banana is the most-consumed banana in the western world - it accounts for 99.9% of bananas in the western world - it accounts or 99.9% of bananas traded globally. It replaced a tastier variety, which was wiped out by a fungal disease in the 1950s.

Fortunately, work is underway to create a Cavendish banana replacement. Although earlier this month, a scientist predicted,

"Eventually, it will not be possible to produce the Cavendish banana variety for international trade."

We eat the variety of bananas known as the Cavendish banana.

Botanical History On This Day

1630 Maria van Oosterwijck was born, the Dutch Golden Age painter whose sumptuous floral still lifes captivated kings and whose devotion to her art famously eclipsed marriage.

1797 Edwin James, American botanist and explorer, was born; he later discovered the Colorado blue columbine and described the Rockies as “a region of astonishing beauty.”

1909 Emil Christian Hansen died, the botanist whose pure yeast culture revolutionized brewing worldwide through his work at the Carlsberg Laboratory.

1913 Brian Lawrence “Bill” Burtt was born, the botanist whose work transformed African violets and streptocarpus into beloved household plants.

1971 Chez Panisse opened in Berkeley, California, when Alice Waters quietly launched a farm-to-table revolution rooted in fresh, local food.

Unearthed Words

Late summer breathes cool promise—a passage by Sarah Orne Jewett captures August yielding gently to autumn.

Grow That Garden Library™

Read The Daily Gardener review of Nueva Salsa by Rafael Palomino

Buy the book on Amazon: Nueva Salsa by Rafael Palomino

Today's Botanic Spark

1909 A Kansas newspaper offered timeless wisdom on beauty at home from “Making Home Attractive” by Ruth Cameron, which reminds us that flowers belong in every room, and in every life.

Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener

And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.