Banana plant

The dwarf banana and the silver banana are the varieties most widely grown in Madeira; the first is Musa Cavendishii and the second a variety of M. Sapientum. Bananas for export are produced solely by the dwarf banana, which is easily recognised by its stems, 1.30 to 1.70 m tall, and by its very large bunches, which sometimes carry more than two hundred fruits.

This banana plant, also known as the Demerara banana because it was imported from that country, originates from China and has been grown on the island since 1842 or 1843.

The silver banana, far less common than the dwarf, began to be grown in Madeira towards the end of the second quarter of the 19th century. It is recognised by its stems of three to four metres and by its smaller bunches, bearing fifty to one hundred and thirty fruits of a lovely yellow on the outside.

These fruits are delicious and slightly acid, but they have the drawback of coming away easily from the stalk, which makes them unsuitable for export.

Banana cultivation already existed on the island in 1552, for it is mentioned by Nichols, an English traveller who was here in that year. The banana then growing on the island was probably the so-called bananeira da terra (local banana), which is also a variety of Musa sapientum. It differs from the silver banana in its fruits, which are somewhat firm inside and less tasty and aromatic.

The bananeira da terra is today very rare in Madeira, and the same may be said of the plantina banana (Musa paradisiaca), whose very large fruits are eaten fried or boiled. The purple-fruited banana, the apple banana and the lady banana are varieties of Musa sapientum that have not become widespread.

Madeira exported 550,000 kilograms of bananas in 1911, 493,990 in 1912 and 619,790 in 1913, worth 27,000, 24,703 and 30,000 escudos (Portuguese currency from 1911, = 1,000 réis) respectively. It is thought that in those years banana exports amounted to about two-thirds of production.

Once cut and chopped into small pieces, the stems of the banana plant make good fodder, to which bran is added. Cowshed owners usually buy them to feed their oxen.

Like sugar cane, the banana plant should be grown only in the lower zone (coastal belt) of Madeira. Above 200 or 300 metres its fruit is smaller than that produced on the coast, and at an altitude of 600 metres it bears fruit only with difficulty, as we have had occasion to observe more than once.

Banana growing is one of the most valuable sources of public wealth in Madeira, and its fruit is widely exported to mainland Portugal and to various foreign countries. The superiority of its native qualities over similar produce from other regions is already earning it an almost universal reputation, which over time is bound to spread and grow ever stronger everywhere. A scientific monograph was much to be desired, one that would highlight the history of the Madeiran banana, its composition, its physiological action, its therapeutic virtues, its nutritional value, the most rational way of using it, etc., with the proven competence and due integrity that the nature of the subject imperatively demanded. This aim has just been fulfilled by the work, valuable on many counts, which Dr Vicente Henriques de Gouveia published in a second edition in 1939 under the title A Banana/Fruto de Todo o Ano/Alimento Medicamento. It is a book to be read and duly appreciated, and its author deserves thanks for the notable service he has rendered to his homeland.