Plantain

plantain
    n 1: any of numerous plants of the genus Plantago; mostly small
         roadside or dooryard weeds with elliptic leaves and small
         spikes of very small flowers; seeds of some used
         medicinally
    2: a banana tree bearing hanging clusters of edible angular
       greenish starchy fruits; tropics and subtropics [syn:
       {plantain}, {plantain tree}, {Musa paradisiaca}]
    3: starchy banana-like fruit; eaten (always cooked) as a staple
       vegetable throughout the tropics
    

Plantain \Plan"tain\, n. [Cf. F. plantain-arbre, plantanier, Sp.
   pl['a]ntano, pl['a]tano; prob. same word as plane tree.]
   1. (Bot.) A treelike perennial herb ({Musa paradisiaca}) of
      tropical regions, bearing immense leaves and large
      clusters of the fruits called plantains. See {Musa}.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The fruit of this plant. It is long and somewhat
      cylindrical, slightly curved, and, when ripe, soft,
      fleshy, and covered with a thick but tender yellowish
      skin. The plantain is a staple article of food in most
      tropical countries, especially when cooked.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Plantain cutter}, or {Plantain eater} (Zool.), any one of
      several large African birds of the genus {Musophaga}, or
      family {Musophagid[ae]}, especially {Musophaga violacea}.
      See {Turaco}. They are allied to the cuckoos.

   {Plantain squirrel} (Zool.), a Java squirrel ({Sciurus
      plantani}) which feeds upon plantains.

   {Plantain tree} (Bot.), the treelike herb {Musa paradisiaca}.
      See def. 1 (above).
      [1913 Webster]
    

Plantain \Plan"tain\, n. [F., fr. L. plantago. Cf. {Plant}.]
   (Bot.)
   Any plant of the genus {Plantago}, but especially the
   {Plantago major}, a low herb with broad spreading radical
   leaves, and slender spikes of minute flowers. It is a native
   of Europe, but now found near the abode of civilized man in
   nearly all parts of the world.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Indian plantain}. (Bot.) See under {Indian}.

   {Mud plantain}, a homely North American aquatic plant
      ({Heteranthera reniformis}), having broad, reniform
      leaves.

   {Rattlesnake plantain}, an orchidaceous plant ({Goodyera
      pubescens}), with the leaves blotched and spotted with
      white.

   {Ribwort plantain}. See {Ribwort}.

   {Robin's plantain}, the {Erigeron bellidifolium}, a common
      daisylike plant of North America.

   {Water plantain}, a plant of the genus {Alisma}, having acrid
      leaves, and formerly regarded as a specific against
      hydrophobia. --Loudon.
      [1913 Webster]