HMelendez

While on my recently family vacation trip to Ecuador, we went to a really nice restaurant named "La Casa De Las Humitas".....Its located on a top of a mountain in Quito, Ecuador....

We were parking the rented car when I saw this gigantic beautiful plants on top of the hill!.....OMG!.....Rapidly, I started taking pictures in which I'm sharing with you musa addicts guys/members!......LOL....I didn't know their name until I searched the web!.....Green Ensete Ventricosum!....You don't see them a lot, specially flowering (very special moment)!.....












Hopefully you guys enjoyed!.....

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edwmax

If these don't produce pups, then how long does the pstem and/or corm live?

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HMelendez

Ed,

From the web: "Wild ensete plants are produced from seeds, while most domesticated plants are propagated from suckers. Up to 400 suckers can be produced from just one mother plant....Each plant takes four to five years to mature....After flowering/blooming, the plant dies.....The flowers, which only occur once from the center of the plant at the end of that plant's life, are in massive pendant thyrses covered by large pink bracts. The fruits are inedible and have hard, black, rounded seeds."......

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AdotKarl

What a giant!! Thanks for sharing some pictures

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Currently growing: Musa Sikkimensis | Musa Veinte Cohol (Hom Thong San) | Musa Namwah Kap Khao | Musa Hom Kreak | Musa Balbisiana 'Atia Black'

Gabe15

Nice specimen, thanks for sharing. However, it is actually not a Musa at all, but just Ensete ventricosum. It will only make "suckers" (they are not suckers in the true sense) if forced to by cutting it down and then cutting through the meristem before it flowers.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

HMelendez

I was impressed, amazed by the size of this specimens, plants!....



Thank you Gabe for the clarification!....I always appreciate your expertise, with all my respect!....

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Tytaylor77

It's pretty cool how Gabe said they make "suckers" or propagate it. Search YouTube for ensente propagation. Pretty much cut up the corm by quartering it and it grows into lots of new small plants.

Gabe have you or anyone else reading this ever eaten the ensete corm? I know it is a staple in parts of Africa. I think they grind it into a flour or something. Any taste report?

Cool fact: I've also read a full grown ensete corm can store dry without water for upto 8 years!! Then when the rain comes it starts growing again. Amazing. Should be no problem storing one dry over winter.

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Gabe15

I have never eaten the corm or tried to extract pseudostem starch, but I'd love to try if ever given the chance. I've never been able to grow one big enough to sacrifice, the few times I tried growing them in Hawaii, they got ravaged by corm weevils very quickly, but I'll try again someday.

However, the ones cultivated in Ethiopia as a crop are actually domesticated and quite different in eating quality from the wild types, and I suspect the very few varieties available in the horticultural trade are not of desirable eating quality, especially anything grown from seed. There are many dozens of cultivars grown there which are all clonally propagated to maintain their quality, and they are said to be far less bitter than the wild ones among other positive attributes. It's a goal of mine to one day travel to the Ethiopian highlands and see Enset culture.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

scottu

anyone have any recipes, cooked, raw, seasoned. I have a pretty big one cold stored. hoping it survived the winter. this fall not sure i want to deal with moving it again. a good recipe could be the difference

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Viva La Banana

Pan

Hi, i think this is not a regular Ensete Ventricosum! This is a cultivated form of Ensete ventricosum in the Andes in South America. It is said that this form is more robust than the regular Ensete Ventricosum. Ensete ventricosum (Large Seed) - buy seeds at rarepalmseeds.com

pjkfarm

I have lots of "pups from ensete ventricosum and wonder when/how to separate from corm. Essentially, how to be sure each plant has roots. The corm was planted at ground level (maybe not a good idea) so the "pups" are all more or less on top. I have taken one corm with pups and added potting mix 1/2 inch deep and will wait a couple of weeks (pups are growing too fasat and I fear will be too big (over 1 foot) so will remove and wash off and hope to see roots attached to them?
OR . . .
I did see one member here who was doing this with a banana and wonder exactly how they did it (forgot who it was - Ty maybe or ????
Thanks!!!