Blogging about Structure: the Banana

Over the next few posts, I’m going to attempt to rigorously define the structure of banana by looking on it over three different length scales, as well as relating the separate scales to objects in nature and their function. The first length scale I’m going to observe the banana on is the largest: the foot scale (picture at bottom). Since the fruit is roughly seven inches long, the first scale is the overall banana, peel and all. From the outside, you can only see the peel, which is a bright yellow with tinges of green, relatively hard, and smooth material. The stem is a rough, fibrous substance and roughly an inch long. The bottom of the banana is black, made of a similar substance to the stem, and about a centimeter thick. The purpose of the banana peel seems to be to protection from “predators” such as insects or animals. In addition, squeezing the peel seems to release a small amount of water; this seems to indicate that the peel is also used as a water storage device and to retain nutrients. The function of the peel also seems to be a way to regulate the temperature of the more vulnerable fruit inside. This structure of using a harder external “shell” is similar to numerous other things that can’t be found in nature. The most obvious similarities that come to mind are other fruits; they have external skins to protect the softer, inside flesh safe as well as store important substances, such as nutrients. In fact, this basic makeup is reflected almost everywhere in nature, from large animals to microscopic organisms. Cell walls, skin, peels, and exoskeletons are just some examples; this basic protection from external factors is obviously an effective and time-tested composition. That’s it for the largest scale analysis. Next up I’m going to observe the banana’s structure on a smaller and deeper length scale: inches instead of feet.