Banana leaves are large, wide, elongated, and little bit rounded. The surface of the Banana leaves are waxy, flexible, and glossy, and range in color from lime, olive green, to dark green.
Banana leaves are large, flexible, and waterproof. They impart an aroma to food that is cooked in or served on them; steaming with banana leaves imparts a subtle sweet flavour and aroma to the dish. The leaves are not themselves eaten and are discarded after the contents are consumed.
The banana plant is a large perennial herb with leaf sheaths that form trunk-like pseudostems. The plant has 8 – 12 leaves that are up to 9 ft long and 2 ft wide. Root development may be extensive in loose soil in some cases up to 30 ft laterally. Other plant descriptions vary, it depends on the variety.
The leaves on a banana tree are called fronds. They are large, broad, and green, and they grow in a spiral pattern around the trunk of the tree. The fronds are used for a variety of purposes, including cooking, wrapping food, and making roofs
Banana leaves contain about 85% water and 10-17% protein (DM basis). Pseudostems contain mostly water (92-95%) and very little protein (3-4.5% DM) (Ffoulkes et al., 1977). Fibre content is high, in the 50-70% DM range for NDF and about 30-40% DM for ADF (Feedipedia, 2011).
Banana plants are not trees, they are a type of herb. Humans have grown bananas for thousands of years. Fibre taken from banana plants can be used to make clothes.
Eating on banana leaves is healthy in every way. It is packed with polyphenols, which are natural antioxidants that is also found in green tea. These polyphenols battle all the free radicals in the body and prevent diseases. Banana leaf is also rich in polyphenol oxidase which is an enzyme to treat Parkinson’s disease.