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Musaceae
Ethiopian Banana Flower
Ensete ventricosum
sustenance and community.
- Family
- Musaceae
- Genus
- Ensete
- Native to
- Ethiopia, East Africa
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- herbaceous perennial
- Height
- 3-6 m
- Sunlight
- full sun to partial shade
- Soil
- rich, moist, well-drained
- Water
- high
- Hardiness
- 9-11
- Lifespan
- monocarpic perennial
Did you know
- Despite being called a banana, the fruits are not edible; instead Ethiopians eat the starchy pseudostem and corm.
- Ensete is a staple food crop for approximately 20 million people in southern Ethiopia.
- The plant flowers only once after 5 to 8 years of growth and then dies after producing seeds.
- Ethiopian farmers have developed over 200 distinct cultivated varieties through centuries of selective breeding.
- The large leaves can reach 5 meters long and are used as plates, umbrellas, and wrapping material in Ethiopian culture.
Color meanings
0
sustenance
1
community
2
abundance
3
nourishment