Bananas and Apples

There was an interesting question in the Parade Magazine of today's (Sunday) newspaper that I thought I would share today. It's in the "Ask Marilyn" article written by Marilyn vos Savant:

Q: We have Jonathan and Winesap apples; we have Anjou and Bartlett pears. But bananas all seem the same. Why don't we have any Granny Jones or Yellow Delicious bananas?

A: Unlike apples, pears, and oranges--all grown in the U.S.--bananas are tropical fruits. They must be transported long distances in special cooled containers, and they don't last long. (By contrast, apples will keep for months in the fridge.) To keep the cost low enough to compete with locally grown fruits, most growers in banana-producing countries export only one variety all over the world. Yet more than 1000 varieties exist.

I didn't realize there were so many varieties of bananas! I suppose that's because we don't grow bananas here, and I never really thought about it!--Gard'n Judy