A-Z challenge B = BANANAS

DAY TWO OF THE A-Z CHALLENGE 2015

To people of my age (blushes girlishly and declines to reveal exact figure) BB = Brigitte Bardot, but since I joined a writers' forum those letters represent another A-Z Challenger. Check out her blog about Rome.  http://atozofrome.blogspot.co.uk/

BB and I share a passion for bananas, though the reason why is lost in the mists of time.
The following photographs represent the life-cycle of a banana from flower to fruit.

This is only a small tree in our community garden but the flower was half a metre long.

Here the petals are curling back to reveal the individual hands of infant bananas.

Almost ready to ripen in the sun.

Inside a banana plantation - the plastic bags are to protect the bunches when they are cut and loaded onto lorries. Each bunch is almost more than a strong man can carry. The plants are chopped down and recycled to mulch next year's plants which are already growing alongside the parent plants.

And this is an external view - the covers are to keep humidity in and prevent sunburned plants! So next time you fly into Tenerife, you will know what those acres of beige are all about.

In our local market we buy Grade 2 fruit - the ones deemed not good enough for export. They taste fine to us - and occasionally we get more than we bargained for - Triplets!

GO BANANAS!

A few drops of rain and the banana plant in our community garden bursts into flower. It's a plant, not a tree - actually it belongs to the herb family!

The spectacular flower is about 50cm long and a lovely purple colour. 

As you can see, the first petal is just starting to curl - what happens next is amazing.

Beaneath each petal nestles a tiny hand of bananas waiting to be fertilised.

At this stage they are all straight and pointing downwards, but that changes as they grow and ripen. We have watched our own plant produce a small bunch each year, but the sight of thousands of bananas growing inside a plantation is fascinating - next time you're in Tenerife, take a guided tour.

Eventually all the petals fall off and as the bananas grow they curve upwards to reach for the sunlight. You need to be strong to carry one of these huge bunches on your back as the plantation workers do., but it's the only way to get them to the lorries undamaged.

Canarian bananas are smaller than the American ones and much, much tastier. Since the Banana Wars, when America tried to price their rivals out of existence, Canarian bananas are making a comeback - and rightly so.

Each week we buy some from the local farmers' market where they sell 'Grade 2' - those that haven't reached export standard. 

We're not complaining - they're just as delicious.

So there you have it - my thought for the day - go bananas, Canarian-style!

SNOW AND BANANAS

Yesterday morning there was snow on the peak of Mount Teide - no wonder the breeze that blew along the bar terrace was so bitter the night before!

And yet down at our level we have bananas growing.

Two weeks ago the bud appeared.

Then the flower - it's about half a metre long.

And after that each petal curls back to reveal a tiny hand of bananas. All they need to do is fatten up.