It can be said that bananas originated in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific around 8,000 to 5,000 BCE. Domesticated banana plants produce microscopic stones, phytoliths, which are used by archaeologists to look for the places where bananas were domesticated. The oldest remains, estimated to be 7000 years old, have been found in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
From 1870 until the late 1950s the main variety of banana sold in the United States was called Gros Michel. This banana was well loved for its sweet flavor and creamy texture. The artificial banana flavoring used in candies today was even modeled after this flavor. In 1950s the Gros Michel fell victim to an invading soil fungus that causes Panama disease, a form of Fusarium wilt. The few countries that still produce the Gros Michel today mostly do so under another name: Thihmwe in Myanmar, Johnson in Cuba, Pisang Ambon in Malaysia. In Hawai'i, it is commercially grown as Bluefields.