Function

• Similar to a banana leaf, the plantain leaf gets wrapped around meats or vegetables. Steaming the tidy package, similar to a tamale, keeps the ingredients moist and imparts a slightly sweet flavor. The plantain leaf is also sometimes eaten raw as a salad green.
  
  

Fun Fact

• In the Philippines and Malaysia, plantain leaves become plates for serving simple lunches and dinners.
  
  

Benefits

• The plantain leaf was used in teas or as a poultice in ancient medicine. The leaves contain a high amount of vitamin C, have anti-inflammatory properties, and can draw venom out of the skin, making them useful for treating insect stings. Homeopathic and alternative medicine practitioners still use plantain leaves to treat coughs because the leaf acts as an expectorant when eaten.