Bananas are a wonderful source of potassium and are the perfect on-the-go snack.

香蕉是钾元素的绝佳来源，也是完美的便携零食。

The only downside to the fruit are those irritating leathery strands¹ - which are actually called 'phloem bundles' - that you get when you peel back a banana skin.

唯一的缺点是剥开香蕉皮时让人厌烦的韧丝，其实这是“韧皮束”。

But while those stringy bits may not be the most palatable², they are in fact very important - and we wouldn't be able to eat bananas without them, according to Nicholas D. Gillitt, a US academic who shed some light on the mystery this week in a report by Huffington Post.

根据美国学者尼古拉斯•D•吉略特所言，尽管这些韧丝可能不是最美味的，但其实它们很重要。没有它们的话我们就无法吃到香蕉。本周在《赫芬顿邮报》的一篇报道中，他向大家揭开了这一秘密。

The clue as to why those strands are so important is in their name.

为什么这些韧丝如此重要？答案就隐藏在名字里。

Phloem is one of two types of transport tissue that you can find in all plants, and moves nutrients³ and other substances around the whole plant.

植物的韧皮部是两种运输组织之一，存在于所有植物中，它们在整株植物中传输营养素和其他物质。

In a banana, the phloem strands are therefore the reason why all the nutrients can reach the whole of the fruit - which allows it to grow into the fruit we know of.

香蕉中的“韧皮束”可以将各种营养素传输到各个部位，长成我们所熟知的香蕉的样子。

Nicholas D. Gillitt, who is vice⁴ president of nutrition research and director at the Dole⁵ Nutrition Institute explained to Huffington Post: 'Phloem bundles are necessary for the adequate disposition⁶ of nutrients throughout the plant.'

尼古拉斯对《赫芬顿邮报》解释说：“韧皮束对于在整个香蕉中的营养素配置非常必要。”他是多尔营养研究所的营养研究副主席兼主管。

The phloem bundles are completely edible⁷ and are just as nutritionally rich as the main part of the fruit, according to Dr Gillitt.

他说，韧皮束完全可以食用，和香蕉主要部分一样富含营养。

In fact, the strands probably contain a lot more fibre than the rest of the fruit, he says.

他说，和香蕉的其他部分相比，韧丝中含有的纤维可能更多。

It is possible to genetically⁹ modify the fruit to prevent strands from forming - but Gillitt says there is little point dedicating funds to research this when companies can better invest in coming up with disease-resistant food or fruit with higher nutritional⁸ content.

人们可以对香蕉进行基因改造，防止形成韧丝，但吉略特说投资进行这一研究没有意义。把投资用来研究含有更多营养素的抗病食物或水果更好。