Local Guides, can you spot the differences between a Banana and a Plantain plant?
Spoting the differences between a Plantain and a Banana plant has been an uphill task for many people. Just like an identical twins, Plantain and Banana plant are very much identical and this has made it somewhat difficult for people who are not agriculturist to spot their differences.
Till I got of age, it has been an uphill task to differentiate between a Plantain and a Banana plant. Until now, it is somewhat difficult still but with the help of each of the plant fruiting, I could be able to say this is a Plantain plant and that is a banana plant.
What is Banana?
A Banana is an elongated, edible fruit, produce by a herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. Banana typically is eaten as dessert fruit.
What is Plantain?
Plantain is known as cooking banana in the same genus Musa whose fruits are generally used in cooking.
Plantain is not Banana. There are so many differences ranging from the pictures I shared.
Plantains are more starchy and less sweet. It is eaten cooked rather than raw. It has thicker skin. It can be consumed at any stage of ripeness unlike bananas that must be completely ripen.
However, Local Guides, I would love to rephrase my question. Can you tell the differences between Banana and Plantain?
Please, Share your responses on the comments below 
Best regards.
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Hello @Austinelewex
Another great and knowledgeable post here. Thanks for sharing it with us on connect. The pictures are quite clear as well.
I grew up in the city so I canβt say I know the difference between a banana plant and a plantain plant. I can easily spot it out when it comes to the fruit itself,but differentiating the plants for me maybe an impossibility. Nevertheless Iβll know the difference in eating when I taste them 
.
Look forward to the response of others, it will be good to learn to spot the difference.
Cheers
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@SholaIB Thank you for your comment. Like I said in my post, it is actually very difficult to spot the differences between banana and Plantain. I for now can actually spot the differences during when both plant are fruiting.
Have a great weekday.
Best regards.
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To us, we translate banana and plantain as α
αα read as Chek [jek], the same for both.
The only different is species name like Chek Namva or Chek Ambong @Austinelewex .
My article about** red banana and others**was here before.
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@Sophia_Cambodia But you know both are not overly the same. Banana can only be eaten when ripen. But Plantain can be eaten when ripen but not as sweet and soft as banana. It is mostly enjoyed at any stage of its maturity. Like here in Nigeria, it is actually clear, we use Plantain for plantain porridge, we fry plantains. We have Plantain chips both done with ripe and unripe plantains (also know as green plantain). The main distinction is that main banana canβt be fried or processed as Plantain. It is only use as dessert and consumed only when ripe.
I read your post and it is such an interesting post with many species of Bananas.
Thanks for your comment.
Best regards.
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Well, it is not entirely true for us @Austinelewex we use green banana for food as side vegetables and in cooking as well, not only sweet or dessert. In many cases, we eat both green and ripen banana here. We use banana to fry as banana chip. I said this because I know we use only one type of banana which is Chek Namva.
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@Sophia_Cambodia Is Chek Namva very sweet when ripen? Just like Sweet banana eaten here when Ripen, Plantain is also edible when ripen and can be used at any stage of ripeness as I said in the post. But it is very sour to eat raw Plantain when not ripen that is when it is green as you have said. It is very starchy and strong.
Here, Plantain has much of a commercial value than Banana because it can be used for many thing unlike Banana which is use only for dessert and only when ripen.
Thank you for sharing Your knowledge, I believe we have entirely different cuisines and cultures because I know you guys eat Mango green unlike us, we only enjoy mango when ripen.
Best regards.
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@Austinelewex Plantains are not sold in our shops, so I think I canβt spot some differences between banana and plantain fruits also, not only trees. Sometimes I buy banana and they occur to be not sweet and not tasty, they say that itβs possible when the sort of bananas is for animal feed. I canβt say if itβs true.
By the word our people donβt know that only plantains can be fried, but not bananas, so there are different recipes of fried bananas here 
. As for me I made a wonderful fried bananas in caramel glaze, but I have lost those recipe and the next time it was not so tasty.
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Quite the contrary @Austinelewex I had a look at the word and found out that Plantain is like Chek Snabmuk for us which can only be eaten boiling it ripen but cannot eat in any other ways. Banana - we eat in different ways, from flowers to green to ripen. When ripen, you can use them in dessert, sweet, or eat fresh ripen one. You can even dry the ripen one to be the banana jam. It is multifunctional. Banana is bitter with lot of resin when green so it is very good for stomach thatβs why it is included in many recipes in combination with other vegetables to dip in the sauce. Banana is more commercialized here. Any case, both are under one term here which is Chek like I said earlier. We donβt divide it, the only different is name of species. We have Seed banana that is not friendly to eat ripen but the green one and young one is very good as side vegetables to dip sauce.
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@OlgaKlimchik You can spot the differences because you dont have an idea what it looks like.
Check out my gif what can you notice from the two plant?
Plantain is actually sweet when ripen but not as sweet as banana. So you might be eating sweet plantain thinking it is Banana. 
Take another look and see what difference that is obvious in my photos.
Best regards.
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@Austinelewex Maybe I buy plantains sometimes thinking that itβs not tasty bananas. Anyways there are no plantain labels on bananas here.
On your photos difference may be noticed. Bananas bunches are thicker, having cilindrical form. Plantain bunch is more spread out and grows upstairs. And it seems banana tree grows higher.
But as I said I donβt get bananas in the trees, only in shops, which are not always absolutely honest with the buyers . So as for me the differences between fruits would be more useful for me. Are there some differences between the form. shape, colour of bananas and plantains?
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@OlgaKlimchik Just look at my gif, the banana bunch of fruits has a protruding stem with an oval reddish flower while that is absent in the Plantain bunch.
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I think Cambodian cuisine is a combination of all tastes, sour, sweet, bitter, bitter-sweet and things like that. So, it is only naturally we eat green mango together with either dip sauce or salt + chili
.
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@Austinelewex By the way even translator donβt understand the word plantain. Sometimes itβs translated as banana (only last time) and sometimes as our grass-plant, growing near the roads, fleaworts.
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@Austinelewex Is flower always absent on plantain? I have noticed it, but I thought itβs only at those photo.
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@Sophia_Cambodia Your banana food photos look so interesting! Maybe you have some not difficult recipes from banana (I think we havenβt plantains, though after Austinβs words I am not sure in it), maybe you have some post at this theme? It would be interesting to try something at home.
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@OlgaKlimchik You can try this: the banana flower soup.
But normally, we use it as side vegetables which you mix with other vegetables and dip it.
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Olga Plantain and banana almost look alike just like identical twins. But I could say that Plantain is much more bigger in size than banana, but bananas could actually be big when the soil is treated properly. Generally Plantain is bigger than Banana
Check this last Pictures @OlgaKlimchik and @Sophia_Cambodia to see one of the differences between the two.
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@Sophia_Cambodia Itβs a pity, but banana flowers are absent in our shops. Really I had known about them only last year in someoneβs post here in Connect and was really surprices, as I thought that bananas grow from flowers as any other fruit. We have only banana fruits, sometimes they are not sweet and more hard, maybe they are plantains, but I donβt know how to differenciate them in the shop.
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