Ethiopian Banana (Ensete ventricosum)

Family: Musaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Ensete ventricosum is an evergreen Perennial growing to 6 m (19ft) by 3 m (9ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Shoots, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

taste like a good quality bread. — The chopped and grated pulp of the corms and leaf sheaths is fermented and used as a flour in making kocho bread.; 100% kocho flour or a mixture of kocho and other cereal flours may be used.; It is said to taste like a good quality bread.; The endosperm of the seed is consumed as a food.

Habitat & North American Range

Open mountain forests. (Zone 9)