A Package Deal

For this week’s Sunday Trees, I have something that is not technically a tree. But that does not detract from its greatness or usefulness πŸ˜‰ Presenting to you all – the largest herbaceous flowering plant, that is the banana plant.

BantreeThe banana plant has uses other than that of dishing out a complete packaged clean food in bunches. The green leaves were traditionally used as plates and in fact still are in some parts of the country, particularly during festivals and special occasions. The leaves are also used to package and steam food tied up with strings made from the stem, which gives the dish a unique flavor.

BtreeContained within in indistinguishable untidy jungle of leaves is the stem which is also edible. But that is not on my list of foods to eat again before I die – more like to avoid πŸ˜‰ Further, all parts of the plant are believed to have medicinal properties and have been used in Ayurveda for the treatment of various ailments. For example, cooked flowers are used for bronchitis, dysentery and ulcers. Plant sap is used for stings and bites. The young leaves can be used as a poultice for skin irritations.

BandFlowersA closer shot of the young bananas hanging and the flower. In my part of the country, West Bengal, the dishes cooked with the flower is a delicacy and a personal favorite, unlike the stem. Although I have to confess I haven’t tried my hand at cooking it – preparation and extraction of edible bits is tedious and taxing πŸ˜‰

That’s all I know about this fascinating tree oops plant.

Anyone like to add their bit?

By the way did you hear about little Tommy who declared, “Of course I know how to spell banana, I just don’t know when to stop” πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜€

I hope it’s okay Becca, that this week I shared a plant masquerading as a tree rather than a real tree πŸ™‚

Thanks for visiting – have a great week!

 

Published by

Dahlia

Email me at mysilverstreaks@gmail.com or tweet me @mysilverstreaks

27 thoughts on “A Package Deal”

  1. Banana plant! I used to eat nasi lemak (coconut rice with egg, sambal and ikan bilis) wrapped up in banana leaf! The leaf always smelt so nice. Best of all, no need to wash up afterwards πŸ˜€ Lazy.

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    1. Ah another feature in common πŸ˜‰ I grew up hearing that I was the king of lazies πŸ˜€ I looked up nasi lemak – looks yummy and beautiful πŸ™‚

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  3. Family Musaceae, genus Musa. Herbaceous plant and the fruit botanically a berry. From green colour to yellow to red to gold and all the colours in between with different texture and taste. The size also can be from 1and1/2 inches to more than 12 inches. We eat mostly as a dessert fruit there are varieties(Plantains) dried and flour used to cook and is the staple diet of some African countries.
    I hope you do not mind my going on about it.

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    1. Thank so much for adding depth to the post. We also consume the raw version cooked as a vegetable. And i like the taste of the smaller varieties found in coastal regions. I believe they have chocolate colored bananas in Kerala.

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  9. I knew it as a tree too, oops I dont like the feel of it….i didnt kno that, thank you for giving a good lesson today..it was awesome and i learnt so much…thanks Dhalia you are google for me ….

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  10. Dahlia, I did not know about the banana leaves being used as plates, and I might have read somewhere about dishes steamed in banana leaves. Here in my part of the world the indigenous people used cedar trees (evergreens) for lots of different things, small strips of the bark woven into mats for cooking, or hats to keep off the rain, or cedar-bark capes to protect one from the weather. Then there was also cedar-tree canoes and carved-out wooden eating dishes, etc. I’ve read that the tradition was to thank the tree for giving its bounty to the people for their use. It might be nice if we still did that in our urban world today…! πŸ™‚ In your posts, I feel like you often are giving thanks to the trees for their beauty and appearance! πŸ™‚

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  11. I do tend to be automatically drawn to trees and find them terribly inspiring for their stoicism, patience and ability to survive against the odds πŸ™‚ Your part of the world seems very exciting and unique – cedar tree canoes! Where might that be?

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  12. Coconut trees and banana plants… two from the list of things that remind me of home 😊
    We have tried banana leaves as a shield too …from rains…

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