Plantain. An unripe, green banana. This is a starchy type of banana with firm flesh. If it is the variety used for desserts it is cooked when it is green, but it is left to ripen if it is the less sweet type. It is a staple food in many tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world.
Banana fruitshake, blended from condensed milk, sugar syrup, the result so sweet as to add to your thirst.
Indian trumpet flower. A strange plant that sheds enormous flowers overnight. They are said to lie on the ground around the tree looking like broken limbs. Laos, of course, has had unpleasant experience of broken limbs and they know whereof they speak. It is reputed to be the most bombed nation in the world. The plant has edible leaves, stems and flowers, and is also used in traditional medicines.
