Flower for the Day 2-27 Banana Flower

The Sanibel Moorings Resort on Sanibel 
Island is a subtropical botanical garden

complete with banana trees. The mature 
banana plant forms a flower spike or inflorescence

at the top. Here is a mature banana flower 
at the top of a plant but hanging down.Its 
bloodpurple bracts (sometimes incorrectly 
called petals) pealed back and opened each

day like onion skins revealing sweet smelling 
male flowers.

Both the flowers and the bracts fell to the ground 
each night and the process was repeated each day 
of our three week stay.

The female flowers grow further down the stem 
and become the fruit. The banana inflorescence

is eaten as a delicacy in many tropical countries.