A
plantain, or
cooking plantain, (, , ) is one of the less sweet cultivated varieties (
cultivars) of the genus
Musa whose fruit is also known as the
banana. Plantains are typically eaten cooked, sometimes along with their leaves and fibers, and are usually large, angular and starchy, in contrast to common or "dessert" bananas, which are typically eaten raw and without the peel, usually being smaller, more rounded and sugary; however, there is no formal scientific distinction between plantains and bananas.