Accra, July 11, GNA- A wonder plantain that has yielded right from the middle of its stem instead of from the usual top has become the centre of attraction in a backyard garden at the Adenta Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Flats, near Accra.

The usual crown and bunch of plantain, referred to in Akan as "Apem", which have protruded from the mid-section of the plant, appear so far to be doing well.

Mr Emmanuel Twumasi Ankrah, a banker and owner of the garden, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that he noticed the strange flowering and development of the plantain one morning as he inspected the crops. "Even though I have lived the better part of my childhood in the village and engaged actively in farming, I have never seen such a phenomenon before," he said of the crop.

Mr Twumasi said the wonder plantain has attracted the attention of many residents who pass by his garden and stare in amazement at this unusual spectacle.

Asked if he had ever harvested plantain from the garden, he said he had done so on three occasions but had never witnessed such an occurrence.

"My wife has asked me to cut down the plant but I think I will leave it for some time to see how it would develop," he added. Dr Joseph Sarkodie-Addo, a lecturer at the Department of Crop Science of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), told the GNA in a telephone interview that the phenomenon "is one of the abnormal things that happen in the world".

"Some people might read some superstition into this but I think it is sheer abnormality," he said.