the banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant. banana plants are often mistaken for trees. bananas have a "false stem" (called "pseudostem"), which is made by the lower part of the leaves. this pseudostem can grow to be two to eight meters tall. each pseudostem grows from a corm. a pseudostem is able to produce a single bunch of bananas. after fruiting, the pseudostem dies and is replaced. when most bananas are ripe, they turn yellow or, sometimes, red. unripe bananas are green.