Kelly Joyce Bates, age 8, of The Pas, Man., Canada, for her question:

HOW DO THEY GROW BANANAS?

A banana tree grows just one big bunch of bananas‑and then withers away. There are no banana seeds to plant, but a new tree must grow every year or so. This is possible because the grown‑up tree sends up a few little shoots from its roots. When one of these shoots is cut off and planted in fresh soil it begins to grow. After about a year, it is ready to grow a bunch of bananas and sprout a few shoots near the ground.

Actually the banana plant is not a real tree because it does not have a solid trunk. What looks like a trunk is a huge roll of stiff, folded leaves. As it grows, huge green leaves poke out from the top, like a spreading umbrella. At last, a long stalk dangles down from the top. It sprouts flowers that turn into fistfuls of bananas. It takes a strong man to lift the big golden bunch, and the tree may be 25 feet tall.