Ornamental Banana Bloom, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica October 2019

True banana plants grow well here but this ornamental variety (Musa ornata) serves as a fast-growing privacy fence lining many yards. Plus, as you can see, they really are quite stunning. Though they do produce fruit, it is largely inedible due to the size of the seeds.

Last thought on bananas for now, did you know the fruit is actually, botanically speaking, a berry? Go ahead, look it up, I’ll wait. Oh, and once you have the weird world of berries all figured out, could you explain it to the rest of us?