Lexic.us

Definition of Ravenala

1. Noun. Giant treelike plant having edible nuts and leafstalks that yield a refreshing drink of clear watery sap; reputedly an emergency source of water for travelers.

Definition of Ravenala

1. n. A genus of plants related to the banana.

Definition of Ravenala

1. Noun. Any of the genus ''Ravenala'' of plants related to the banana. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Ravenala

1. A genus of plants related to the banana. Ravenala Madagascariensis, the principal species, is an unbranched tree with immense oarlike leaves growing alternately from two sides of the stem. The sheathing bases of the leafstalks collect and retain rain water, which flows freely when they are pierced with a knife, whence the plant is called traveller's tree. Origin: Malagasy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Ravenala

Literary usage of Ravenala

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Madagascar, Mauritius and the Other East-African Islands by Conrad Keller (1901)
"Travellers' Tree (ravenala madagascariensis), after Sibree. Only a league behind Tamatave we may meet with an expanse of water covered with the reddish ..."

2. Madagascar, Mauritius and the Other East-African Islands by Conrad Keller (1901)
"Travellers' Tree (ravenala madagascariensis), after Sibree. Only a league behind Tamatave we may meet with an expanse of water covered with the reddish ..."

3. Madagascar, Mauritius and the Other East-African Islands by Conrad Keller (1901)
"In the forest region, where the ravenala grows too high to be easily reached, ... A few napkins of plaited rice-straw, or reeds, a heap of fresh ravenala ..."

4. A General System of Botany Descriptive and Analytical: In Two Parts by Emmanuel Le Maout, Joseph Decaisne, Joseph Dalton Hooker (1876)
"... radicular end perforating the albumen, reaching the hilum, inferior or centripetal. PRINCIPAL GENERA. Heliconia. Musa. Strelitzia. ravenala. approach ..."

5. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1920)
"TRAVELER'S TREE, an arborescent plant (ravenala madagascariensis') ... The ravenala is a very conspicuous object in Madagascar, its original habitat, ..."

6. The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and by Liberty Hyde Bailey (1914)
"The traveler's tree (ravenala mada- ... Adam's Fig) ; ravenala (Traveler's Tree); Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise Flower). 43. Zingiberaceae (from the genus ..."

7. The Journal of Heredity by American Genetic Association (1914)
"... Palm (ravenala guianensis), representing an interesting genus which is known to most people only by the other of its two species, the larger ravenala ..."

8. The Philippine Journal of Science by Philippines Bureau of Science (1907)
"Five genera are recognized, two being represented in the Philippines, one Musa by many forms, the other ravenala by occasional cultivated specimens. ..."

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