The banana tree is a machloikes rishonim because as several posters mentioned, the stem either dies or is cut down each year after harvest and it regrows the next year from the original roots. It can grow up to 40 feet in one season, and looks like a tree but is actually a vine (the thick foliage around the vine make it appear thicker than it really is) Scientifically, bananas are actually not classified a s a fruit, but as a berry. The gemara classifies a tree for halachic purposes as something that the avzasah remains from year to year. There is a machlokes between Rashi and the Rosh whether this refers to the stem or the roots. We make a huadamah misafek as this satifies all the shitas at least bdieved. If one made a haetz by mistake on a banana, he may not make a huadomoh, because he was yotze according to one shitah, and as far as the other shitah, we say safek brachos lehakel. The same shailah applies to strawberries-although it does not look like a tree, it has the same issue as a banana and may be classified halachikly as a tree. See R Bodners sefer on hilchos brachos, and R’ Felders tape on the topic who raises an interesting nafka minah lihalachah.
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