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Ensete edule
Ensete edule P. F. Horaninow, Prodromus Monographiae Scitaminarum : 41 (1862).
Accepted name |
Ensete ventricosum (F. M. J. Welwitsch) E. E.
Cheesman, Kew Bulletin 2 (2): 101 (1947) and R. E. D. Baker & N. W. Simmonds, Kew
Bulletin 8 (3): 405 (1953) with correction in Kew Bulletin 8 (4): 574 (1953). |
Synonyms |
Musa ensete J. F. Gmelin,
Syst. Nat. ed. 13, 2: 567 (1791) and J. E. G. Baker, Annals of Botany 7: 205 (1893). |
Authorities |
The source for the accepted name is Baker and Simmonds 1953
as corrected (see link below).
The synonym is from Cheesman 1947a. |
Distribution |
Africa. |
Description |
See Ensete ventricosum for a description of this
polymorphic species. See Musa ensete for a description of that taxon. |
References |
Baker & Simmonds 1953 : 405, Cheesman 1947a : 97 & 100, GRIN,
Horaninow 1862 : 41, Lock 1993 :
3, Mobot Tropicos, Novak 1992, Sagot 1887 : 328. |
Comments |
This
is the "prototype" Ensete species described by P. F. Horaninow when he
created the genus Ensete in his Prodromus Monographiae Scitaminarum of
1862. The plant was first described and figured by the traveller Bruce and Horaninow
erroneously credited Bruce with the first valid publication of both the generic and
binomial name. As Cheesman points out, Bruce used "Ensete" merely as a
transcription of the plant's vernacular name. Although
Ensete edule was the first and only Ensete named by Horaninow it
came to be reduced to a synonym of Ensete ventricosum. This occured as
follows.
In 1859 Welwitsch named an Angolan banana species Musa ventricosa (meaning
big-bellied or pot-bellied) on account of its swollen stem base. This species seems
not to have been known to Horaninow who did not include it in his 1862 conspectus of Musa.
In reviving the genus Ensete in 1947 Cheesman took Ensete edule as his
type and created a further 24 Ensete species including Ensete ventricosum
by transfer of Musa ventricosa. From the outset Cheesman suspected there
might be synonymy in his list of 25 Ensete species and this indeed proved to be
the case.
Baker & Simmonds' 1953 review of the genus Ensete in Africa
radically reduced the number of species either rejecting or reducing to synonyms most of
Cheesman's African Ensete. Baker
and Simmonds' original paper maintained Ensete edule as the principal African Ensete.
However, when it was noticed that, via Musa ventricosa, Ensete ventricosum
took priority over Ensete edule by three years a substantial correction appeared
in the following issue of Kew Bulletin that reduced Ensete edule to a synonym of Ensete
ventricosum (please see link above).
Musa ensete of course dates to 1791 and has priority over the other names.
However, the name was not available to use since it would have created the unacceptable
tautology of Ensete ensete. |
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