Plantain

A maiden left her village one night and followed a path into the a wood to meet her lover. He never came to her. Throughout the night, she waited for the sound of his footsteps, but all she heard was the hooting of the owls and the sigh of the wind in the trees, and in the small hours, she began to weep.

Finally, she lay by the path and died. The sun rose. All around her body, green shoots began to grow. By noon, pale blossoms had threaded their way through the dark strands of her hair. By evening, the body had vanished into a mass of tiny flowers. They haunt roadsides still, keeping a vigil for a lover who never appears.

Plan"tain (?), n. [Cf. F. plantain-arbre, plantanier, Sp. pl�xa0;ntano, pl�xa0;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.

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, ∨ Plantain eater Zool., any one of several large African birds of the genus Musophaga, or family Musophagidae, 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).

© Webster 1913.

Plan"tain, n. [F., fr. L. plantago. Cf. Plant.] Bot.

Any plant of the genus Plantago, but especially the P. 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.

© Webster 1913.