The plantain is a crop in the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana (which is sometimes called the dessert banana). The proper pronunciation of plantain is similar to 'mountain' instead of the often used 'maintain' pronunciation.

The population of North America was first introduced to the banana plantain, and colloquially in the United States and Europe the term "banana" refers to that variety. The word "banana" is often used (some would say incorrectly, although there is no formal botanical distinction between bananas and plantains) to describe other plantain varieties, and names may reflect local uses or characteristics of varieties: cooking plantain, banana plantain, beer banana, bocadillo plantain (the little one), etc. All members of the genus Musa are indigenous to the tropical region of Southeast Asia, including the Malay Archipelago and northern Australia.

Plantains tend to be firmer and lower in sugar content than dessert bananas. Bananas are most often eaten raw, while plantains usually require cooking or other processing, and are used either when green or under-ripe (and therefore starchy) or overripe (and therefore sweet). Plantains are a staple food in the tropical regions of the world, treated in much the same way as potatoes and with a similar neutral flavour and texture when the unripe fruit is cooked by steaming, boiling or frying. They are grown as far north as Florida, the Caribbean and Central America, South America in countries like Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and southern Brazil, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Egypt,Cameroun,Nigeria and southern Japan or Taiwan and as far south as KwaZulu-Natal.

Plantains are in the genus Musa, and are mostly sterile triploid hybrids between the species Musa acuminata (A genome), and Musa balbisiana (B genome). Musa species are likely native to India and Southern Asia. It is assumed that the Portuguese Franciscan friars were responsible for the introduction of plantains from Africa to the Caribbean islands and other parts of the Americas.

Plantain flowers

Plantain leaves

The leaves are fairly widely available in grocery stores or open air markets in Venezuela and can exceed two meters in length. They are also used to stimulate appetite as a fragrant smell is given off when hot food is placed on top of the leaf. In Nicaragua they wrap their Nacatamales and also used for their Vigoron, Vaho and other dishes. In Peru they are often use to wrap the famous Tamale (Tamales). In Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, these are usually used to wrap tamales before and while cooking, and they can be used to wrap any kind of seasoned meat while cooking to keep the flavor in. In the Dominican Republic, the plantain is the country's main food source and is used just as much as, if not more than, rice. Mangu and Sancocho are two signature dishes that revolve around the plantain. The leaves are also dried and used to wrap corn dough before it is boiled to make Fanti kenkey, a fine ghananian dish eaten with ground pepper, onions, tomatoes and fish.