Arm-sized latundan banana harvested in Mandaluyong City

A couple in Mandaluyong City harvested a latundan banana of surprising size from their backyard.

According to Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras," Thursday, the banana measured seven inches in length and weighed four to five kilograms.

"'Yung ibang latundan, 'pag natikman mo, sobrang tamis. Pero ito 'pag natikman mo siya, sakto lang po ang tamis niya," Junjun Dacles said, adding that he did nothing special with the plant.

According to plant taxonomist Jayson Mansibang, the environmental condition where the banana was planted might have been very desirable, allowing the banana to thrive exceptionally well.

"Another thing is plant hormones. Baka naman 'yung lupa or may something na na-induce doon within sa system ng banana para maging malaking-maki siya. Isa pa possibility is, again polyploidy, so mutation," he said.

Bananas, which are not trees but rather herbaceous plants, are a distant relative of ginger.

"Ibig sabihin nito ay isa siyang uri ng vascular plant, so may xylem, may phloem, pero wala siyang distinct secondary growth na nag-li-lignify, nag-fo-form ng wood," Mansibang said.

There are over 1,000 banana varieties globally, with wild bananas originating in Southeast Asia, contributing to their high genetic diversity through numerous hybridization events. —Carby Rose Basina/MGP, GMA Integrated News