stalk

Banana Tree Flowers The female banana flower emerges out of the top of a stalk. These produce the ovaries that develop into the "hands" that are part of every stalk of banana fruits. Needing no pollination, they develop into the iconic seedless fruit found in every supermarket in the United States. Once the fruits have all appeared, the flower elongates, producing a long tail with a large, red bud hanging upside-down at the end. This bud contains the male organs. All these parts have their own botanical names: The thick stalk that attaches to the pseudostem and supports the female flower is the "peduncle," while the rough, elongated tail emerging from the bottom of the bananas is the "rachis." The fruit itself is simply the "bunch." From Banana Flowers to Fruit You may be dreaming of harvesting your own bananas, but unless you have at least 18 months of continuous warm weather in your location with no frosts or freezes, you merely have an ornamental banana in your landscape. Banana flowers and their accompanying fruit usually appear in late summer and then winter over, ripening in mid-spring, according to California Rare Fruit Growers, but an unexpected freeze will abort the process. Sometimes, banana stalks appear in summer instead and ripen before winter. Harvest the entire banana fruit stalk at one time when the bananas are still green, but plump; then hang it in a cool, dry location and cut off the "hands" as needed. Alternatively, harvest individual hands for tree-ripened fruit. Be careful, however, because ripe bananas are perfect bait for rodents, who are adept at eating the insides and making it appear as if the fruit is untouched. To encourage faster ripening, cover the stalk with a plastic bag. Source: homeguides.sfgate.com/banana-tree-bloom-stages-57944.html

the angel of death and the scythe for making harvest.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called "I Love Oklahoma", and we'd love to have this added to the group!

So lovely

www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/pietown.html?c... Great article with the history of Pie Town inspired by these photographs.

I just stumbled upon this and saw that they used this photograph for the Penguin Modern Classics Edition for "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck!