- Family:
- Musaceae Juss.
- Genus:
- Ensete Bruce ex Horan.
Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman
The Ethiopian banana is a close relative of the dessert banana (cultivars of Musa acuminata). However, as much as it looks like a 'regular' banana plant, the Ethiopian banana is not cultivated for its fruits, but rather for its vegetative parts. In southern and south-western Ethiopia, the starch-rich pseudostems and underground organs serve millions of people as a staple food, similar to potatoes elsewhere. In tropical and subtropical gardens the Ethiopian banana is a popular ornamental, producing very large 'banana leaves' marked by a conspicuous purple to purplish-brown midrib. A spectacular architectural plant, in Britain this species can be grown in containers to afford temperate gardens a tropical flair in summer.

[CPLC]
Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co
- Distribution
- Cultivada en Colombia; Alt. 1500 - 2600 m.; Andes.
- Morphology General Habit
- Hierba
[KSP]
Kew Species Profiles
- General Description
-
The Ethiopian banana is a close relative of the dessert banana (cultivars of Musa acuminata). However, as much as it looks like a 'regular' banana plant, the Ethiopian banana is not cultivated for its fruits, but rather for its vegetative parts. In southern and south-western Ethiopia, the starch-rich pseudostems and underground organs serve millions of people as a staple food, similar to potatoes elsewhere. In tropical and subtropical gardens the Ethiopian banana is a popular ornamental, producing very large 'banana leaves' marked by a conspicuous purple to purplish-brown midrib. A spectacular architectural plant, in Britain this species can be grown in containers to afford temperate gardens a tropical flair in summer.
- Species Profile
-
Geography and distribution
Native to tropical East Africa, from Ethiopia to Angola, the Ethiopian banana (like the majority of species in the Musaceae, or banana family) is a plant of moist and open habitats, rather than closed woody communities. It is usually found along swamp margins, on river banks and in open, moist mountain forests at altitudes ranging from 1,400 to 3,100 m above sea level. It is also widely cultivated in south and south-western Ethiopia.
DescriptionEnsete ventricosum is a perennial plant that grows 6-12 m high. As with other members of the genus and the 'true' bananas ( Musa spp.), its unbranched 'stems' are actually pseudostems made up of tightly-overlapping leaf sheaths, left behind when the leaf blade has died. The pseudostem is 1.5-5 m tall and widens at the base, giving rise to the specific name ventricosum (Latin for swollen or inflated on one side). Both the leaf midrib and the pseudostem are often variably stained purple or purplish-brown. As in other bananas, the main pseudostem dies after flowering and fruiting. However, unlike other bananas, the Ethiopian banana rarely produces suckers unless the plants are intentionally induced to do so for vegetative propagation.
Depending on the clone (or cultivar) and environmental conditions, flowering occurs after about four to eight years. The flowers are produced in conspicuous 2-3 m long inflorescences which are borne directly at the apex of each pseudostem. The 4-8.5 cm long, white to cream-coloured flowers are bisexual or male, and occasionally also female. Bisexual and (if present) female flowers are found at the base of the inflorescence, whereas male flowers are produced closer to the apex. The floral display is supported by large maroon-purple bracts subtending large groups ('hands') of flowers.
The yellow or orange-coloured fruits are 8-15 cm long and up to 4-5 cm in diameter, usually with a persistent style and floral remains. There are usually 15-25 very hard, black seeds per fruit, although numbers vary from 0-40. The seeds are embedded in an edible but tasteless orange pulp and vary in size (1.2-2.3 x 1.2-1.8 x 0.9-1.6 cm). They vary in shape from nearly spherical to flattened and irregular, and from deeply striate (grooved) to almost smooth. Monkeys and birds are the most likely dispersers of the seeds.
Conservation assessments carried out by KewEnsete ventricosum is being monitored as part of the Sampled Red List Index Project, which aims to produce conservation assessments for a representative sample of the world's plant species. This information will then be used to monitor trends in extinction risk and help focus conservation efforts where they are most needed.
UsesAlthough also found in other East African countries, the Ethiopian banana is only grown as a crop in Ethiopia, where it has been eaten for thousands of years. In south and south-western Ethiopia, Ensete ventricosum is the most important staple food crop. In this region, 11-15 million people rely on the starch contained in the leaf sheaths and pseudostems for their survival. After chopping and grating, the pulp of the pseudostems is used as a flour to prepare 'kocho' bread, porridge or soup. The underground stem (rhizome) is also boiled and eaten like potatoes, or chopped up and left to ferment. The starchy endosperm of the hard seeds is also consumed, and the base of the flower stalk is cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
In addition to being an important food plant, the Ethiopian banana is also used as livestock feed. The leaves provide thatch, umbrellas, mats and wrapping materials, as banana leaves do elsewhere in the tropics, and the leaf stalks yield fibres for cordage and sacking. The only part of the plant that is not used is the root. In East Africa the large black seeds are used as beads and threaded to create necklaces and rosaries.
Millennium Seed Bank: Seed storageKew's Millennium Seed Bank Partnership aims to save plant life world wide, focusing on plants under threat and those of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault.
Description of seeds: Very hard, black, variable in size (1.2-2.3 x 1.2-1.8 x 0.9-1.6 cm) and shape from nearly spherical to flattened and irregular, surface deeply striate (grooved) to almost smooth.
Number of seed collections stored in the Millennium Seed Bank: One collection of 1,145 seeds.
Seed storage behaviour: Orthodox (the seeds of this plant survive drying without significant reduction in their viability, and are therefore amenable to long-term frozen storage such as at the MSB)
Ethiopian banana at KewEnsete ventricosum 'Maurellii' can be seen growing in theTemperate House. Other specimens of E. ventricosum are held in the behind-the-scenesTropical Nursery, the garden ofCambridge Cottage and the Orange Room atWakehurst.
Pressed and dried specimens of E. ventricosum are held in the Herbarium, one of the behind-the-scenes areas of Kew. The details, including images, of some of these can be seen online in the Herbarium Catalogue.
The Economic Botany Collection contains samples of the seeds, fibre and an alcohol distiller made from parts of the Abyssinian banana.
- Distribution
- Ethiopia
- Ecology
- Swamp margins, river banks and open, moist mountain forests, in cultivation in Ethiopia.
- Conservation
- Not yet assessed according to IUCN Red List criteria.
- Hazards
-
None known.
[UPFC]
- Distribution
- Biogeografic region: Andean. Elevation range: 1500–2600 m a.s.l. Cultivated in Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Bogotá DC, Cundinamarca.
- Habit
- Herb.
- Conservation
- IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): LC.
- Ecology
- Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, shrubland, artificial - terrestrial.
[FTEA]
Musaceae, J.M. Lock. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1993
- Note
- Is the basis of an agricultural system in southern Ethiopia.
- Morphology General Habit
- Giant herb arising from a short upright rhizome.
- Morphology Stem
- Pseudostem formed of the overlapping leaf-bases, 1.5-5 m. tall.
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaf-blades erect or spreading, forming a large rosette, oblong-lanceolate, to 5 × 1.5 m., glaucous or not, midrib red or green.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Inflorescence appearing from the centre of the rosette, pendulous when mature.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
- Bracts of the male part of the inflorescence persistent or partially deciduous, each subtending ± 30-40 flowers. Bracts of the female/hermaphrodite part of the inflorescence persistent, partially covering the fruits.
- sex Male
- Bracts of the male part of the inflorescence persistent or partially deciduous, each subtending ± 30-40 flowers. Outer tepal of male flowers 3-lobed, the lobes variable in length, 3.5-5.5 cm. long, white with orange-yellow tips; inner tepal serrate-apiculate, 1-1.5 × 1-1.7 cm., the apiculum 0.3-1.3 cm., or occasionally absent; stamens 5, 3-5 cm. long, anthers violet to purple, filaments white; staminode present or not, acicular, 0.1-1 cm. long; style acicular, 1-2 cm. long.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Outer tepal 3-lobed, sometimes with 1-2 smaller extra acicular lobes attached to it internally; inner tepals 1-3, variable in shape with 2 wings and an apiculum up to 1.5 cm. long; stamens 0-5, 3.5 cm. long, coloured as in the male flowers; staminodes variable according to the number of stamens present; style 2.5-4 cm. long, terete, with a large capitate stigma. Outer tepal of male flowers 3-lobed, the lobes variable in length, 3.5-5.5 cm. long, white with orange-yellow tips; inner tepal serrate-apiculate, 1-1.5 × 1-1.7 cm., the apiculum 0.3-1.3 cm., or occasionally absent; stamens 5, 3-5 cm. long, anthers violet to purple, filaments white; staminode present or not, acicular, 0.1-1 cm. long; style acicular, 1-2 cm. long.
- sex Female and Hermaphrodite
- Outer tepal 3-lobed, sometimes with 1-2 smaller extra acicular lobes attached to it internally; inner tepals 1-3, variable in shape with 2 wings and an apiculum up to 1.5 cm. long; stamens 0-5, 3.5 cm. long, coloured as in the male flowers; staminodes variable according to the number of stamens present; style 2.5-4 cm. long, terete, with a large capitate stigma. Bracts of the female/hermaphrodite part of the inflorescence persistent, partially covering the fruits.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruits 5-20 in the axil of each bract, long-obovoid, 8-15 × 3-4.5 cm., orange at maturity.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds irregularly subspherical, 1.2-2.3 × 1.2-1.8 × 0.9-1.6 cm., striate to smooth, hard, black, embedded in orange pulp.
- Figures
- Fig. 1.
- Habitat
- Disturbed places in upland forest, often in ravines and on steep slopes, or in swamps and on river banks, but also sometimes in drier lowland forests; 900-2250 m.
- Distribution
- K3 K4 K5 T2 T3 T4 T6 T7 U1 U2 U4 poorly represented in herbaria because of the difficulty of making collectionsEthiopia and Cameroon south to Angola and South Africa (Transvaal)
[UNAL]
Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/
- Vernacular
- plátano de Abisinia
[UPFC]
- Use Animal Food
- Used as animal food.
- Use Environmental
- Environmental uses.
- Use Gene Sources
- Used as gene sources.
- Use Food
- Used for food.
- Use Invertebrate Food
- Used as invertebrate food.
- Use Materials
- Used as material.
- Use Medicines
- Medical uses.
Native to:
Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
Introduced into:
Gulf of Guinea Is., Jawa, Juan Fernández Is.
- Ensete arnoldianum (De Wild.) Cheesman
- Ensete bagshawei (Rendle & Greves) Cheesman
- Ensete buchananii (Baker) Cheesman
- Ensete davyae (Stapf) Cheesman
- Ensete edule Bruce ex Horan.
- Ensete fecundum (Stapf) Cheesman
- Ensete holstii (K.Schum.) Cheesman
- Ensete laurentii (De Wild.) Cheesman
- Ensete proboscideum (Oliv.) Cheesman
- Ensete ruandense (De Wild.) Cheesman
- Ensete rubronervatum (De Wild.) Cheesman
- Ensete schweinfurthii (K.Schum. & Warb.) Cheesman
- Ensete ulugurense (Warb. & Moritz) Cheesman
- Ensete ventricosum var. montbeliardii (Bois) Cufod.
- Mnasium theophrasti Pritz.
- Musa africana W.Bull
- Musa arnoldiana De Wild.
- Musa bagshawei Rendle & Greves
- Musa buchananii Baker
- Musa davyae Stapf
- Musa ensete J.F.Gmel.
- Musa fecunda Stapf
- Musa holstii K.Schum.
- Musa kaguna Chiov.
- Musa laurentii De Wild.
- Musa martretiana A.Chev.
- Musa proboscidea Oliv.
- Musa ruandensis De Wild.
- Musa rubronervata De Wild.
- Musa schweinfurthii K.Schum. & Warb.
- Musa ulugurensis Warb. & Moritz
- Musa ventricosa Welw.
- English
- Ethiopian banana
Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman appears in other Kew resources:
Date | Reference | Identified As | Barcode | Type Status | Has image? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Engler, A. [2254], Tanzania | K000099681 | isotype | Yes | ||
Kirk, J [1777], Tanzania | K000099716 | Unknown type material | Yes | ||
Buchanan, J. [470] | K000099717 | holotype | Yes | ||
Wordsell, W.C. [s.n.], South Africa | K000308007 | Yes | |||
Mingard, H. [19], South Africa | K000308008 | Yes | |||
Jan 1, 2017 | Rogers, F.M. [s.n.], Tanzania | Musa ulugurensis | 32146.000 | No | |
Baker, R.E.D. [213], Tanzania | Ensete edule | 17133.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [21], Kenya | Ensete edule | 17135.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [48], Kenya | Ensete edule | 17136.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [119], Uganda | Ensete edule | 17137.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [115], Uganda | Ensete edule | 17138.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [120], Uganda | Ensete edule | 17139.000 | No | ||
Drummond, R.B. [1341], Tanzania | Ensete edule | 18914.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [233], Kenya | Ensete edule | 20332.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [212], Tanzania | Ensete edule | 20333.000 | No | ||
Uganda | Ensete edule | 22091.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [28], Kenya | Ensete edule | 22214.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [116], Uganda | Ensete edule | 22646.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [16], Kenya | Ensete edule | 22647.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [27], Kenya | Ensete edule | 22648.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [114], Uganda | Ensete edule | 22649.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [183], Tanzania | Ensete edule | 22650.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [117], Uganda | Ensete edule | 22651.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [113], Uganda | Ensete edule | 22652.000 | No | ||
Baker, R.E.D. [26], Kenya | Ensete edule | 22653.000 | No | ||
Dawe, M.T. [521], Uganda | Ensete edule | K000099679 | holotype | Yes | |
Dawe, M.T. [521], Uganda | Ensete edule | K000099680 | holotype | Yes |
First published in Kew Bull. 2: 101 (1947 publ. 1948)
Accepted by
- Albano, P.-O. (2003). La Conaissance des Plantes Exotiques: 1-324. Édisud, Aix-en-Provence.
- Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Figueiredo, E., Paiva, J., Stévart, T., Oliveira, F. & Smith, G.F. (2011). Annotated catalogue of the flowering plants of São Tomé and Príncipe Bothalia 41: 41-82.
- Fischer, E., Rembold, K., Althof, A. & Obholzer, J. (2010). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Kakamega forest, Western province, Kenya Journal of East African Natural History 99: 129-226.
- Govaerts, R. (2001). World Checklist of Seed Plants Database in ACCESS E-F: 1-50919.
- Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
- Timberlake, J.R. & Martins, E.S. (eds.) (2010). Flora Zambesiaca 13(4): 1-151. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Literature
Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
- Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co
Kew Species Profiles
- Ademasu Tsegaye & Westphal, E. (2002). Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman. In Oyen, L.P.A. & Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (eds), Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Precursor. (Associate Editors: Davis, S.D., Chauvet, M. & Siemonsma, J.S.). PROTA Programme, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Pp. 75-79.
- Baker, R.E.D. & Simmonds, N.W. (1953). The genus Ensete in Africa. Kew Bulletin 8: 405-416.
- Negash, A. (2001). Diversity and conservation of enset ( Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) and its relation to household food and livelihood security in south-western Ethiopia. PhD thesis Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Kew Backbone Distributions
- Figueiredo, E., Paiva, J., Stévart, T., Oliveira, F. & Smith, G.F. (2011). Annotated catalogue of the flowering plants of São Tomé and Príncipe Bothalia 41: 41-82.
- Fischer, E., Rembold, K., Althof, A. & Obholzer, J. (2010). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Kakamega forest, Western province, Kenya Journal of East African Natural History 99: 129-226.
Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia
- Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R., & Celis, M. (eds.). (2020). Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia. v1.1. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Dataset/Checklist. https://doi.org/10.15472/7avdhn
- Dempewolf, H., Eastwood, R. J., Guarino, L., Khoury, C. K., Müller, J. V. & Toll, J. (2014). Adapting agriculture to climate change: a global initiative to collect, conserve, and use crop wild relatives. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 38, 369-377.
- Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
- Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
- FPI (2021). Food Plants International. https://fms.cmsvr.com/fmi/webd/Food_Plants_World?homeurl=https://foodplantsinternational.com/plants/
- GBIF.org (2021). GBIF species matching tool. https://www.gbif.org/tools/species-lookup
- GRIN (2021). Germplasm Resources Information Network from the United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ars-grin.gov/
- IUCN (2021). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org.
- Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) v.10 (2021); http://mpns.kew.org/
- PROTA (2021). Plants Resources of Tropical Africa. https://prota4u.org/database/
- RBG, Kew (2021). Kew Economic Botany Collection. https://ecbot.science.kew.org/
- RBG, Kew (ed.) (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.
- Willis, K.J. (ed.) (2017). State of the World’s Plants 2017. Report. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Cheesman in KB. 2: 101 (1948).
- Dale & Greenway, Kenya Trees and Shrubs p. 10 (1961).
-
Art and Illustrations in Digifolia
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Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
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Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible
ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
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Flora of Tropical East Africa
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Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
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Kew Backbone Distributions
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Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
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