OCR Text |
Show , l Banana Employed by the Serpent in Eden? "Early inhabitants of the East believed be-lieved that the banana plant was the source of good aud evil and that the serpent which tempted lve hid In a bunch of the fruit," according to W. T. Pope of the Hawaii experiment station of the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture. Undoubtedly this legend Influenced the early classifiers who designated two species of the plant as musa par-adlsiaca par-adlsiaca (fruit of paradise) and musa saplentura (fruit of knowledge). The common name, "banana," was adopted from the language of an African Con go tribe, and first came Into use during dur-ing the Sixteenth century. Prior to that time the fruit was culled "apple of paradise" and "Adam's fig." The name "banana" stems to bave boon borne for a long period by the fruit which was eaten raw. The term "plantain" was given to a variety which, though closely related to the banana, is edible only after being cooked. The generic name "Musa" for the banana group was bestowed by the botanist Linnaeus in honor of An-tonius An-tonius Musa, a learned physician of the early Roman empire. Chicago Journal. |