There once was a gardener named Joseph Paxton who fell in love. The object of his desire was beautiful, unique and oh so shapely. The old stories say he first saw his beloved depicted on wallpaper in his employer’s bedroom. He mulled that image over and over in his head — dreaming, hoping, loving — until one day he made a vow.“ Somehow, someway I will find you” He whispered, gliding his finger over the image. I know you must live very far from here, in a place with different weather, and culture — but I know I can make you grow and blossom. I am, after all, a master gardener.”

What does being a gardener have to do with it? Well, Paxton’s beloved was a banana.

Paxton was employed by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick House, west of London. When he told the wallpapered image of a banana he was a master gardener, he was right. As head gardener for the Duke, he had done some pretty amazing things. In fact, he moved a grown tree weighing eight tons from one town to another. He was one of the first to perfect the use of greenhouses as well. It was there that he grew his first exotic fruit, the pineapple. He also grew the Victoria Regia lily with seeds sent to him from the amazon. Experimenting with plants that weren’t naturally suited to or found in his climate wasn’t new for Joseph Paxton.

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Have you ever met Big Mike? Or Gros Michel as he’s known in some circles. The name is deceptive because Big Mike isn’t a guy and he’s not gross. Mike is a banana, and not just any banana. He was THE banana, or the top banana if you prefer. In fact, he inspired that whole banana republic nonsense. While Paxton was drooling over his banana, Mike was building a life of his own, traveling from Southeast Asia to a botanical garden on the Caribbean island of Martinique. But we’ll get back to him later.

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Meanwhile back in the garden: Paxton was talking to his banana plant. Mon cher amour . . . banane de mes rêves . . . vous êtes la perfection

Everyone knows if you’re going to coax a plant into growing you ought to do it in French. And grow it did.

Despite the naysayers, Paxton’s banana plant flowered in November 1835. By May of the following year, it was loaded with fruit. He christened his new banana plant with the name Cavendish, after his employer. The Cavendish did so well, that in 1836 it was exhibited at the Horticultural Society’s Show where it won a silver medal.

Now that Paxton’s banana was making a name for itself, it was time for it to tour the world. First, the suckers were taken to Samoa by a missionary. From there it went to Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, and Hawaii. It spread through the tropics and subtropics around the 1850s. It signed autographs, did dance routines, and gave interviews to Barbara Walters. In its little sphere, the Cavendish was famous.

Big Mike, however, had made an even bigger name for himself. In fact, the whole world was in love with him. Bananas had taken the world by storm and it was all thanks to Big Mike.

Sometimes tragedy strikes right when you’re at the top of your game. And so, during the 1950s, it was for Big Mike. I’d like to tell you he never knew what hit him, and that he didn’t suffer. Alas, that would be a lie.

It was called Panama disease, and it infiltrated plantation after plantation. New areas of rainforest were cleared and Big Mike was replanted but to no avail. Wherever he went, the disease followed. Losses to the banana industry were huge with some estimates at 2.3 billion or 18.2 billion today.

What was the world to do? Without the banana, lunch as we know it could cease to exist. And then the banana companies made a discovery. A beautiful discovery. The Cavendish banana was resistant to Panama disease.

And so it was that the little Cavendish banana plant, born and raised in an English garden, began to rule the world. It’s most likely that every banana that you eat — in your cereal, sundae, or straight from the peel — is a Cavendish.

And everyone lived happily ever after…

Well, kind of… Unfortunately, things haven’t been going so well for our hero the Cavendish. In fact, Panama disease — that old banana nemesis, has regrouped and found a way to infiltrate the defenses that made him so popular in the first place.

Do we face a bananaless future? Not entirely. There are other banana varieties out there and scientists are working hard to find a way to save us from the impending bananapocalypse. And should the day come when the reign of the Cavendish comes to an end, remember him and his humble beginnings as a coveted image on wallpaper.

And another thing: Big Mike is not entirely dead. He is, like many old movie actors, living in various remote parts of the world. Also like old actors, he plays small roles in different markets. In fact, if you try, you may be able to find him in a grocery store near you. If you’re feeling wild, you can even order them here.