FIG. -2. A BANANA PLANT WITH THE TOP CUT OFF 



Reproduced from a photograph by Mr. J. M. Keith. This shows a banana plant the top 

 of which was cut off before the flower-stalk had grown to the height of the cut. The 

 flower-stalk continued to grow, emerging above the cut, and eventually forming fruit. 

 The cut surface shows the concentric cylinders which form the trunk, each of which 

 is the basal portion of a leaf. 



