The medium-sized green fruits, which are of a specific group of banana, the East African Highland bananas (
Plantain is a staple in Africa's Western, Eastern, and Central regions. It looks like a banana, but it's longer, has more starch, and a thicker skin. Whether the fruit is green (unripe) or yellow (ripe), it is frequently cooked before eating.
And genetic evidence from other studies suggests that bananas were first introduced from New Guinea into southeast Asia. From there sea traders could have brought them to East Africa across the Indian Ocean.
Bananas are one of the most popular and widely consumed fruits in Nigeria and Africa, and banana farming has become a significant agricultural business in the region. Nigeria is one of the leading producers of bananas in Africa, with a production capacity of 2.73 million metric tons in 2020.
A plantain is actually a type of banana, but with a different flavor and culinary use. Like bananas they are originally from Southeast Asia, but they're grown all over the world today. They tend to be larger in size than bananas, and have a thicker skin. Plantains are also starchier and lower in sugar than bananas.
There are about 20 species of Plantain found in Victoria, including both Australian native and introduced exotics. Of these, only Buck's-horn Plantain (Plantago coronopus) appears to tolerate saline conditions, although some, such as Greater Plantain (P. major) may be able to survive in short-term brackish waters.
The word plantain can describe a specific, weedy plant, but it's also used more loosely for any bananas or banana-type fruits that are cooked rather than eaten raw. Plantains are made into sweet drinks, chips, snacks, soups, dumplings, and many more dishes. Plantain comes from the Spanish plátano, "banana."
The banana (Musa spp.) cultivars grown in the rural areas of South Africa are 'Pisang Awak' (ABB genome) (70%) and 'Cavendish' (AAA genome) (30%) in contrast to only 'Cavendish' in the commercial banana growing areas.
The traditional varieties of bananas grown in Jamaica include Robusta, Williams (Ziv), Grand Nain, Lacatan, and Gros Michel. Varieties developed in Jamaica or endemic to the island are RG1 (developed by Ren Gonsalves), Tetraploid 1242 (developed by Dr.
Chinese migrant communities introduced the first bananas to Australia. Chinese migrants are thought to have brought the first banana plants with them to Australia in the 1800s – firstly in the early to mid 1800s to Carnarvon in Western Australia and then to north Queensland in the 1870s.
Bananas are grown commercially in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. There are currently about 13,000 hectares of bananas grown in Australia; 94 per cent of which are located in four north Queensland growing regions: Tully, Innisfail, Lakeland and the Atherton Tablelands.
Most edible bananas are seedless cultivars that are derived from hybridisations of Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. There are also native Australian species of bananas - Musa banksii and Musa jackeyi.
Marula (Sclerocarya birrea), wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca), wild plum (Prunus americana), raisin bush (Grewia flavescens), and sour plum (Ximenia caffra) are among the indigenous fruits found in Africa.
Among the important fruits are bananas, pineapples, dates, figs, olives, and citrus; the principal vegetables include tomatoes and onions. The banana is well distributed throughout tropical Africa, but it is intensively cultivated as an irrigated enterprise in Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, and Madagascar.
Bananas are also has mentioned in the Quran as one of the fruits of Paradise: Allah Almighty says in Quran: "Amid thornless lote-trees, and banana-trees (with fruits), one above another, and extended shade, and water flowing constantly, and abundant fruit, neither intercepted nor forbidden" (43).
Arabic for banana
The Arabic word for banana is pronounced mawza and written ﻣَﻮﺯَﺓ.
In Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay it is banana, with the same spelling as English. In Spain, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Equatorial Guinea, it is plátano. In Cuba it is plátano fruta. In the Dominican Republic and the other countries mentioned above, it is guineo.
It's important to identify the variety as many varieties grow in New Zealand. Hugh says the most common edible bananas are lady fingers and misi luki and these are grown as commercial crops throughout Northland. The other varieties are the Samoan hua moa, or a Cook Island plantain.
Chinese migrants brought banana plants to Australia when they came to work in the goldfields. Banana plants were also brought from Fiji by sugar cane cutters. The first plants were mostly grown ornamentally, firstly in Carnarvon in Western Australia and then in north Queensland.
Plantain – Grow Great Fruit. Not the large cooking banana, but the extremely common herb found in gardens, lawns, and roadsides throughout Australia, Europe, and Asia, plantain is also called ribwort, narrow-leafed ribwort, flat weed, common plantain, and lamb's tongue.
Plantain is a mineral-rich temperate perennial herb with a low fibre content that is suited to regions with >600 mm of annual rainfall. Nutritive value advantages from including plantain in perennial ryegrass-based pastures have increased spring and summer milk yields.
Plantain resemble banana but are longer in length, have a thicker skin, and contain more starch. They are also a major staple food in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. They are usually cooked and not eaten raw unless they are very ripe. Plantains are more important in the humid lowlands of West and Central Africa.