Description

Plantain is quite different from banana, being taller and larger and more droughts tolerant. It is a perennial herbaceous plant that develops from the underground rhizome. Like bananas, it too flourishes well under tropical moisture-rich, humid low-lying farmlands.

At maturity, the rhizome gives rise to flower (inflorescence) that is carried up along a smooth, elongated, un-branched stem piercing through the centre of the pseudo-stem, finally emerging out at the top in between the leaf cluster. The flower subsequently develops to plantain bunch consisting of 3 to *0 hands, each with at least ***0 fingers (fruits).

Raw green plantains are only eaten after cooking. Each fruit measures about 3 to *0 inches or more in length depending upon the cultivar type. They tend to have coarser external features with prominent edges and flat surfaces unlike smooth, round contours in dessert bananas. The flesh inside is starch rich with tiny edible black seeds concentrated at its core. Ripening process, however, enhances flavor and sweetness since the starch converts to sugar much similar to the case of fruit bananas but to a lesser extent.