Is The Banana Going Extinct?

The bananas in your kitchen are genetically vulnerable clones and, after years of threatening it, they might finally be heading towards extinction.

The latest banana to stock your shelves is a particularly bland variety known to banana geeks by its proper name: The Cavendish. But to everybody else it’s known more simply as the only banana readily available. Fifty years ago, though, that spot was held by a different top banana: The Gros Michel (by all accounts a significantly less bland variety than our current), which was completely wiped out by a fungal infection that slowly spread worldwide, clearing the way for the Cavendish.

Now it looks like that same process is happening again.

[link to io9.com]