ArborNote’s Tree of the Week is the Banana Tree (Musa acuminata) because Hank Ortiz harvested his bananas this weekend! Though they grow as high as trees, banana and plantain plants are not woody and their apparent “stem” is made up of the bases of the huge leaf stalks. Thus, they are technically gigantic herbaceous plants (but we will let that slide😜) The native distribution of the genus Musa includes most of the South East Asian and parts of north-eastern Australia. It has been introduced to many other parts of the world with tropical or subtropical climates. In addition to the edible fruits, the flowers can be eaten cooked, and the heart of the plant (like heart of palm) can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves are used in several cultures as cooking wrappers, such as for Puerto Rican pasteles or Indonesian pepes, and for food plating.