A Note on Ensete edule, Ethiopian Banana

Ensete edule or Ethiopian banana bears the largest fruit in the banana family. The plant is very much akin to common banana but it is 30 to 40 ft. tall. Its distribution extends to India in cool humid regions. In 1955, a few seedlings of this species were brought from Kalimpong and planted in Sukna nursery (elevation 500 ft., rainfall 150"). The plants have shown certain abnormalities probably as a result of environmental change. Although the fruit is not edible, the plant yields fibre and the peduncle is eaten as vegetable. It offers hopeful possibilities in hybridisation experiments with common banana.