Interesting facts about appearance and smell

Flowering ability

The Indian banana is a tree with a long lifespan. Therefore, it can take a few years to flower. If you have a Pulling Indian bananas from seeds, you have to be patient for at least seven years. Refined trees manage to form some flower buds as early as the third year of standing.

Heyday

The flowers of the Indian banana show up in front of the leaves. But the tree is smart enough to wait for the frosts. So it rarely happens that its flowers freeze to death. The tree is usually in full bloom in May. The current weather can only delay or bring forward the flowering time by a few days.

Appearance of the flower

The hairy flower buds were already formed in the previous year at the ends of the newly sprouted branches. You can easily withstand freezing temperatures in winter. The following can be said about the flower itself:

• has 3-4 egg-shaped sepals
• they are red-greenish in color
• are hairy on the outside
• each flower has two circles with 3-4 longer petals each
• the nerve is clearly pronounced
• they are purple-red to rust-red in color
• the petals are slightly curved outwards
• the flower then has a bell shape
• just like the bell, it hangs with the opening facing down
• each flower has several ovaries
• the flower stalk is approx. 2.5 cm long and bent downwards
• he is thick and equipped with red, fine hair

Unsightly scent

Fragrances are not always pleasant, as the flowers of the Indian banana prove. But that's on purpose. These trees want to attract scavenging insects. In this way, pollination is ensured in their home country. This is important so that from the bloom to autumn a delicious one fruit matures.

These insects don't live with us. The busy bees don't seem to like the scent. Therefore, they rarely fly to the flowers.