robin's plantain, common name of several plants belonging to the family Asteraceae (aster family). Robin's plantain, also known as hawkweed, of the genus Hieracium, is mostly native to South America and Europe. The ancient Greeks believed that the hawks used the sap of these plants to sharpen their eyesight. Poor robin's plantain, also called fleabane, is the common name for the genus Erigeron, found worldwide, particularly in mountainous regions. The name comes from the Greek, meaning "old man in the spring." Robin's plantains are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Asterales, family Asteraceae.

plantain lily: see lily.

plantain, any plant of the genus Plantago, chiefly annual or perennial weeds of wide distribution. Many species are lawn pests and the pollen is often a hay fever irritant. P. psyllium, called psyllium, or fleawort, is cultivated in Spain and France for its mucilaginous seed-coatings, exported under the name psyllium seed for use as a laxative. In the United States wild plantains are occasionally utilized locally for forage. The name plantain is also used for a starchy form of the banana; the water plantain, Alisma plantago-aquatica, is another unrelated species. Plantains are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Plantaginales, family Plantaginaceae.

Any of about 40 species of hardy herbaceous perennials, also called plantain lily, of the genus Hosta, in the lily family, native to eastern Asia. They prefer light shade but will grow under a variety of conditions. They are frequently grown for their conspicuous foliage, which may be light to dark green, yellow, blue, or variegated. The ribbed leaves grow in a cluster at the base, and stalks bearing clusters of tubular white or bluish-purple flowers emerge from the leaves.

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Tall plant (Musa paradisiaca) of the banana family that is closely related to the common banana (M. sapientum). Believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, the plantain grows 10–33 ft (3–10 m) tall and has a conical false “trunk” formed by the leaf sheaths of its spirally arranged, long, thin leaves. The green-coloured fruit is larger than that of the banana and contains more starch. Because the starch is maximal before the fruit ripens, the fruit is not eaten raw but is boiled or fried, often with coconut juice or sugar as flavouring. It may also be dried for later use in cooking or ground for use as meal, which can be further refined to a flour. The plantain is a staple food and beer-making crop for East African peoples and is also eaten in the Caribbean and Latin America.

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