I cut the part of the tree where all the flowers were cause it was growing mold. There was alot of juice coming out and i tried it and it made my tongue and mouth go numb. I was wondering if anyone knew what caused this to happen?

Well... This isn't gonna be a scientific answer but....Many plants have chemicals in the leaves and stems that help protect them from being eaten by pests. Diffenbachia (spelling?) ("dumb cane") so called because it numbs as well , comes to mind first. Chances are that if the leaves could be eaten, we'd be talking about what spray to use to fight off the bugs.

There may be more here than meets the eye. If banana plant juice has a numbing effect, maybe it could be used as a topical pain relief, like for toothaches.

Hmmmmm, banana leaves are used in cooking so I am surprised at this. Did you use any chemicals on this banana over the season?

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Make your words soft and sweet; you just may have to eat them someday.

Banana latex has a complex physical and chemical structure that is generally deactivated by cooking. It is also an excellent dye for cloth (brown) as it makes a strain that can only be removed with scissors.

Hi,
I have a problem with eating bananas as they make my throat itch real bad and make my mouth/tongue feel like it is swollen.
This is with store bought bananas so I am hoping that growing my own(I just bought my first tree(Musa Belle-Pisang Raja) to try and grow) I wont react the same.

I really like bananas so it is very disappointing that I cant eat them.
I was wondering if anybody might know what is causing this and/or maybe a cure?

I was thinking maybe it is something that is put on at the store or maybe before arriving at the store?

Any ideas/suggestions?

Thank you

Could be a couple of things. You could be having a reaction to the poisons sprayed on the plants. Foreign countries are not regulated as we are (tongue in cheek) in the USA as to pesticide, insecticide, fungicide, etc use. Or it could be that you are just allergic to banana's, period.

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Make your words soft and sweet; you just may have to eat them someday.

Hi bamboochik,
Well,I hope its just a reaction to the poisons sprayed on the plants.
I guess the only way I will know for sure is when my tree yields some naners.

Thank you

Your reaction sounds suspiciously like a banana allergy. I developed banana allergies about 3 years ago, and it sucks, as I LOVE banana pudding. The corners of my mouth get cracked and itchy, and I sometimes have "gastric distress" when I can't resist the banana pudding. A steady dose of Claritin D seems to help if you can't resist those bananas. My mom is a nurse and has the same allergy. She says people who are allergic to bananas are frequently also allergic to latex. (fortunately I'm not so far...)

First, it isn't the foreign countries at fault for the chemicals, it's the US companies growing the bananas. They use lots of fungicides. Most the bananas eaten in banana producing countries are smaller and with a number of blemishes because they are usually not so chemicalized and are a different variety. I live in Costa Rica and an export banana is easy to spot with its flawless skin and large size. Most the locals prefer "criollas" which are smaller, beat up looking and delicious! Or the "garden" or "date" bananas which are short, stubby things but oh so sweet.

Banana plants do produce latex but the peel has more than the flesh. Try eating a very ripe banana that you have not touched the peel of. Or freeze or cook a fully ripe banana. Both partly deactivates the latex but if you are really sensitive then there's not much you can do.