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Accession Data:

Ensete superbum (Roxb.) Cheesman

  • Common Name: Cliff Banana
  • Family: Musaceae Juss.

  • Country of Origin: Western Ghats, Anaimalai Hills and other parts of peninsular India

  • Uses: fruit and seed are used in the Ayurveda to treat diabetes, leucorrhea, kidney stones, bladder infections2

    • IMPORTANT NOTE: Plant Uses are for informational purposes only. EEB Greenhouses assume no responsibility for adverse effects from the use of any plants referred to on this site. Always seek advice from a professional before using any plant medicinally.
  • Culture: The plant grows on limestone cliffs, on edges or in crevices It dies back in winter or dry season and resumes next spring from the corm.

    Propagation is only by seed, does not produce suckers.2

  • USDA Zone: 8b-10

Accession Data:

  • Accession # 201000134
  • Source: Mike Bordelon - Smithsonian
  • Provenance:
    Seed from Smithsonian# 2000147(F) x 1999174(M)
    
  • Accession Date: 09-30-2010
  • Bench: 1211 - AUS:Ground Bed 1 SW
    • Currently: active - healthy
    • Qty: 2 confirmed on 10-05-2024

Classification:

  • Division: Magnoliophyta
  • Class: Liliopsida
  • SubClass: commelinids
  • Order: Zingiberales
  • SubOrder:
  • Family: Musaceae
  • SubFamily:
  • Tribe:
  • SubTribe:

Flowering Data:

This accession has been observed in bloom on:
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2024
2023
2022

References (internal):

  • Medicinal Plants - Ayurveda Medicine
  • EEB 3271 - Systematic Botany
  • Plants from the Kress Collection (NMNH/Smithsonian)
  • EEB Greenhouse Holdings native to: India /

References (external):

  1. Kumar, Jaishanker, Annamalai, Iyer; Ensete superbum (Roxb.) Cheesman: a rare medicinal plant in urgent need of conservation - Current Science, Vol. 98, No. 5, 10 March 2010
  2. Jungle Garden
  3. The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Thursday, May 12, 2016.
  4. WCSP (2016). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on Thursday, May 12, 2016.
  5. Image #00 (cropped) & #01 (original) used with the permission of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th and Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20560-0193. Last accessed on Tuesday, 16 July, 2019.

data regenerated on Sat, 14 Dec 2024 08:27:03 -0500 [bcm v4.0]

Images:

Ensete superbum

Additional images for this accession:

Click on thumbnails to enlarge

Current Accessions in the Musaceae

  • Ensete superbum
  • Musa laterita W/C
  • Musa acuminata 'Dwarf Cavendish'
  • Musa basjoo
  • Musa ornata
  • Musa sikkimensis
  • Musa textilis
  • Musa velutina
W/C = Wild Collected
= indicates flowering in past 14 days
= images available for this accession
= map available for this accession
= accession added within past 90 days
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