What is the difference between banana flowers and plantain flowers?

Bananas and plantains both belong to the Musaceae family of fruits, and their similar names and appearances often make them hard to tell apart. But the difference between banana flowers and plantain flowers is still quite significant.

1. What is the difference between banana flowers and plantain flowers?

1. Morphology

The banana flower inflorescence droops, and the inflorescence axis is densely covered with brown fuzz; the outside of the bracts is purplish-red, covered with white powder, and the inside is dark red, but slightly paler at the base, with a glossy sheen; while the plantain flower inflorescence is terminal and drooping; the bracts are reddish-brown or purple.

2. Benefits

Banana flower:

(1) Treating high blood pressure: banana flower is sweet and bland in flavor, cool in nature, and can clear heat, calm the liver, and stop bleeding. Folk medicine uses banana flower to treat hypertension and prevent stroke. “Ri Hua Zi Ben Cao” records that banana flower can “treat heart impediment pain.”

(2) Beauty and skin care: banana flower can not only make people feel happy and lift the spirits, but also has the remarkable effects of invigorating blood and regulating menstruation, nourishing the skin and improving complexion, calming the mind and reducing stress, slimming and shaping the body, strengthening health, and eliminating disease and prolonging life. Regularly drinking banana flower tea can also make the skin delicate, rosy, smooth and radiant, full of luster and elasticity.

(3) Diuresis: banana flower contains diuretic components that can promote the excretion of toxins from the body and improve metabolism.

(4) Weight loss: banana flower and the heart of the banana tree are rich in vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients needed by the human body. Banana flower has effects such as relieving constipation, lowering blood lipids, and reducing weight. Banana flower is a top-grade delicacy among wild mountain vegetables.

Plantain flower:

(1) Plantain flower is sweet and bland in flavor, slightly pungent, and cool in nature; it has the effects of resolving phlegm and softening hardness, calming the liver, harmonizing stasis, and promoting menstruation; it mainly treats chest and diaphragm fullness

and distension, stuffy and painful abdominal and epigastric region, acid regurgitation and nausea, vomiting of phlegm and saliva, dizziness of the head and eyes, heart pain and palpitations, and irregular menstruation in women.

(2) Plantain flower is suitable for people who are physically weak, lack energy, have low immunity, and are prone to illness. It is contraindicated for those with excessive fire and seminal loss, yin deficiency and fluid depletion, difficult urination, and dry mouth and tongue.