Plantain

n.	1.	(Bot.) A treelike perennial herb (Musa paradisiaca) of tropical regions, bearing immense leaves and large clusters of the fruits called plantains. See Musa.
	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. Plantain cutter (Zool.) any one of several large African birds of the genus Musophaga, or family Musophagidæ, 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).
	1.	(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. 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.

Noun	1.	plantain - 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.	plantain - a banana tree bearing hanging clusters of edible angular greenish starchy fruits; tropics and subtropics Synonyms: Musa paradisiaca, plantain tree
	3.	plantain - starchy banana-like fruit; eaten (always cooked) as a staple vegetable throughout the tropics

broad-leaved plantain, buckthorn, cart-track plant, common plantain, English plantain, fleawort, genus Plantago, herb, herbaceous plant, hoary plantain, narrow-leaved plantain, Plantago, Plantago lanceolata, Plantago major, Plantago media, Plantago psyllium, Plantago rugelii, Plantago virginica, psyllium, ribgrass, ribwort, ripple-grass, rugel's plantain, Spanish psyllium, white-man's foot, whiteman's foot

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