Banana

Hebrew: בָּנָנָה, bananah
Family: Musaceae
Scientific Name: Musa

Botanically, the banana is defined as a perennial herb because it does not have a woody trunk like regular trees, but rather a stem composed of multiple leaf-stalks (similar to an onion). This stem is sometimes referred to as a pseudostem. Beneath the ground is a perennial corm, and each pseudostem is produced from a bud of this corm. The pseudostems grows until flowering and fruit ripening (12 – 24 months), after which it withers. Cultivated banana varieties do not produce seeds; rather, they are parthenocarpic fruits, meaning they can develop fruit without fertilization and without seed production.

The banana used for human consumption is a tropical plant originating in Asia and Africa. While known to humans from ancient times, the plant was brought to our region only roughly 1,000 years ago, apparently by the Arab conquest. For this reason, the plant was not known to the Sages.

Tree or Vegetable: One of the main questions discussed by the halachic authorities is how to define the banana from a halachic perspective, as a tree or as a vegetable. The doubt arises because, on one hand, the root system is perennial, but on the other hand, the part of the plant that bears the fruit is annual or biennial, and after it bears fruit, it withers and dries up. There are many definitions for classifying a plant as a tree or a vegetable; one definition of a tree is a plant with a trunk, branches, and leaves, while a vegetable is a plant whose leaves develop directly from the roots. Therefore, since the leaves emerge from the plant’s corm, and then gradually develop from the pseudotrunk, it is defined as a vegetable concerning the laws of orlah and blessings.

Kilei zera’im and kilei hakerem (interplanting mixed species: annuals and grapevines): The banana’s classification as a vegetable means that the laws of kilei zera’im and kilei hakerem apply to it, so it should be distanced from other types of edible annuals and grapevines.

Onat hama’aserot (tithing season): An interesting discussion among the halachic authorities concerns the stage at which the obligation to separate ma’aserot from bananas applies (onat ma’aserot). The banana is a fruit that, if left on the plant until ripening, will rot and cannot be sold. Therefore, it is customary to pick the fruit while still unripe and induce ripening through various methods (artificial ripening). Consequently, some have argued that it cannot be tithed as long as it is not edible. However, many halachic authorities believe that since all field preparation work is completed (gemar melachah), it is considered to have reached onat hama’aserot, and its processing is finished. Therefore, it is permissible to tithe bananas even before they are fit for consumption.

Shemitah (Sabbatical year): Although a vegetable, since it is a perennial, the sefichin prohibition does not apply if the corm existed before.