Here in Tampa Bay, Florida, lots of people have banana trees as ornamentals. But it's rare to see any of them actually set fruit--the weather here is not very well suited for it. But at the Pinellas County Arboretum and Botanical Garden, they have a collection of cultivated banana tree varieties from around the world, and many of them are able to set fruit here. So here is a photo tour.....
Banana trees at the Arboretum.
Lacatan. Grown in the Philippines.
Hawaiian. Also called the Candy Apple Banana.
Ice Cream. Also called the Blue Java. It is more cold-tolerant than other varieties.
Orinoco. From the Orinoco River valley in Venezuela.
Lady Finger. Also known as the Sugar Banana. From southeast Asia.
Hua Moa. The name means "Moa Eggs". Grown in the South Pacific Islands.
Double Banana. Also called the Mahoi. It can produce two bunches of fruit at once.
Misi Luki. Grown in India. The bananas are only four inches long.
Saba Plantain. Plantains are bananas that are green when ripe and are intended for cooking. The Saba is grown in the Philippines.
Maugh Faugh Baugh. Pronounced "mafobay" it is a kind of plantain grown in the Carribbean.
For those who are interested, I did a diary a while ago on the history of bananas, here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...