The Banana Flower: A Botanical Wonder

The banana flower, also known as a banana blossom, is the inflorescence of the banana plant. It is a stunning structure, often overlooked due to the overshadowing appeal of the fruit it eventually produces. Resembling a giant, crimson-hued bud, the banana flower comprises tightly packed bracts that unfurl in layers to reveal a mesmerizing inner core.

I’ve made these two paintings on a Hahnemühle watercolor sketchbook I took to my trip to Brazil in 2022. I painted immediately after returning from a trip from Morretes to Curitiba. The bus goes through the Graciosa road, one of the most beautiful routes on the region (the coast of Paraná). It passes through the middle of the Serra do Mar, in a luxurious part of the Atlantic Rainforest. And I had the privilege to watch from the window the florescence of the Banana trees: each tree with one single flower on its top, colors varying from white to pink.