The Living Rainforest > Explore > Bananas

Bananas

Bananas (Musa acuminata) are the world's favourite fruit.

Banana fruit growing at The Living Rainforest

They are the biggest-selling food product in British supermarkets. However, of each £1 we spend on these fruits the original growers typically receive just 5p. 'Fairly traded' bananas are now becoming more widely available, and in buying them we can help to improve pay and conditions for the world's banana workers.

Although in Europe we only eat this one variety, 40 wild banana species exist and over 300 varieties are grown. Wild bananas produce mainly small, inedible fruits which contain seeds. They usually grow in brightly-lit forest clearings and are pollinated by bats.