Certain plants behave like humans; some tend to live by making sure they produce who will take over their place when they die. This is what I discover in this plant called Plantain.
How life begins and its influence, even to some many plants around us - noticing how nature operates in the way of their reproduction. In the case of plantain, before it bears fruit they need to produce their heir which is the sucker; it stands to defend the one who bears fruit until its time for harvest.
This means that after the plantain has been cut down, the sucker will still continue its reproduction on its own family terms. Human beings too have this aura and tradition of bringing forth their (heir) before they pass on, during their plan for their posterity.
Plantains (Musa paradisiaca) are related to banana. They look quite similar and are in fact, morphologically similar, but while bananas are grown for their sugary fruit, growing plantains are cultivated for their firmer, starchy fruits. Both are members of the Musa genus and are technically large herbs; their fruits are classified as berries.
Plantains are a hybrid of two species of banana, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana.
Unlike bananas though, which are eaten fresh, plantains are almost always cooked or roasted, e.t.c.
Plantains are grown from a super long 12- to 15-foot underground rhizome. The resulting plant has giant leaves (up to 9 feet long and 2 feet across) wrapping around a central trunk or pseudostem.
Flowers are produced from the pseudostem and develop into a cluster of hanging fruits. In commercial growing plantain plantations, once the fruit is harvested, the plant is cut down soon to be replaced by pups that sprout up from the mother plant, that is equivalent to humans. Think about it!
Since plantains are grown just like bananas, I'm still jealous of their connectivity. Initial plantain plants care, requires well-draining soil, regular watering and protection from wind or frost.
When the fruit is ripe, cut it from the pseudostem with a knife.
Then chop the tree down to the ground and whack up the detritus to use as mulch to be spread around the new plantain tree that will arise from the rhizomes.
In summary, almost everything in life has the system of backup; think of it!