SC - Bananas

[Decker, Terry D.]

  For some reason, the Spaniards saw
> a likeness between the banana tree and the totally
> different plane tree (plateno), which is how the
> plantain got its confusing name.
> 
> Huette

Huh?  The plantains are members of the family Musacea genus Plantago
originating in Southeast Asia.  The banana is genus Musa.  The term is also
used for members of genus Musa which require cooking before eating, while
bananas can be eaten raw. Pliny mentions both bananas and plantains.  In
Spanish, it is usually "platano" or "plantano", according to the quick ref.
Plantains and bananas are both imports to the New World.  


The plane tree is a relative of the U.S. sycamore.  I don't know the family
off the top of my head, but the genus is Plantanus.  There are related trees
in Europe.

Apparently all of these names derive from the Greek "platus" meaning broad
and are descriptive of the leaves.

Bear