Note 10 — Chapter XIV · THE RICH COAST

The fruits, however, that are the mainstay for the greatest number of people in the tropics, are, as has already been stated, the banana and the plantain. The former is known to botanists as Musa sapientum, because sages have reposed beneath its shade and eaten its fruit. The latter is called Musa paradisiaca, on account of a certain tradition that it was the forbidden fruit in Paradise.10 Both the banana and the plantain number almost as many varieties as the apple. The bananas are smaller than the plantains. The former range from one to six inches in length, while some varieties of the latter attain a length of fifteen inches. They are eaten raw, boiled and roasted and as preserves. A few trees will supply a whole family with the means of subsistence during the entire year.