280 A TEXT-BOOK OF BOTANY 
great and representative families, and they deserve to be 
mentioned in this general survey. 
The banana belongs to a small family most nearly 
related to the orchids; and, although a tropical plant, it is 
coming into common use as a foliage plant on account of its 
Fic. 276.—A banana plant.—After Encuer and PRANTL. 
beautiful leaves, associated with its relative the canna. 
It grows from ten to forty feet high, although it is an herb, 
and bears a crown of very large, pinnately veined leaves 
(Fig. 276). From fifty to one hundred and fifty fruits are 
produced in a single cluster, and a plant bears only once. 
