The time between planting a banana plant and the harvest of the banana bunch goes from 9 to 12 months. Banana Tree(Musa) (Mai'a) dies after it bears one branch of banana's. Unlike the infamous Redwood, there are no 1,000 year old banana trees. But all is not lost because after the banana tree bears its fruit, it grows new shoots around it's base and a brand new tree sprouts form the new growth.
Aside from a food source, banana trees are used for cattle feed, medicine, alcohol, roofs, dye, wine, packing material and vinegar. Banana trees can be found throughout the islands.
The most commonly known banana is the Cavendish variety, which is the one produced for export markets.
| Kingdom | Plantae – Plants |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta – Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
| Division | Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants |
| Class | Liliopsida – Monocotyledons |
| Subclass | Zingiberidae – |
| Order | Zingiberales – |
| Family | Musaceae – Banana family |
| Genus | Musa L. – banana |
| Species | Musa acuminata Colla – edible banana |