Described as a “banana on steroids,” the enset (Ensete ventricosum), also known as Ethiopian banana, Abyssinian banana, or false banana, is a species of flowering plant in the banana family. It can be a super food, as scientists say it can be a salvation during global warming.
The plant, which grows up to 10 m, is the main product for 20 million people in the Ethiopian Highlands, which turn it into bread and porridge, building materials, packaging, livestock feed and medicines.
Direct speech: “People say that this is a new wonderful harvest. They say it is very drought tolerant, and we’re trying to test it, ”said James Borrell, a scientist from the Royal Royal Kew Botanical Gardens in London, who studies the potential of the plant.
Banana peel is used in the manufacture of soap.
Starchy fabric from the stem of the enset and the giant underground part - with bulbs weighing up to 100 kg. - turns into pulp and buries in a pit for fermentation, and then turns into a chewing cake called kocho.
Borrell said that this plant can provide food security in the face of climate change, because it grows in a huge range of conditions - "from heat to fog and frost" - and it can be harvested at any time.
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