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There have been various reports (cited by Cheesman and
Simmonds) of one and possibly two undescribed Ensete species in Thailand.
Put
426, Doi Chiengdao, 21 October 1926, affinities apparently with E. glaucum,
but seeds smaller and more numerous.
Kerr 6271, Mê Chêm, Chiangmai, c. 500 m., 10 July 1922. "Klue Pam
Pa". Described inter alia in the collector's notes as having dull red
bracts and abundant red juice.
(Cheesman 1947)
An Ensete from
Thailand was introduced into cultivation by John Banta although plants (grown in the US)
have proved difficult to cultivate, initially thriving but then succumbing to a wet
rot. Photographs of this plant in cultivation show something resembling Ensete
superbum. Ensete superbum is essentially a plant of the Western Ghats
of India so if this Thai species is the same it will represent a very interesting disjunct
population. Seed of what is presumably the same plant as John Banta's has recently
(2002 & 2003) been offered by Ruud Meeldijk.
Images
There are
external links to two images of a plant (now dead due to rot) grown by Alan Galloway. |