About Ensete superbum (Roxb.) Cheesman
Plants of Ensete superbum may grow up to 3.7 m (12 feet) high. Its pseudostem may reach up to half the total plant height, with a swollen base that measures up to 2.5 m (8 ft) in circumference. The leaves are bright green on both sides, and have a deeply grooved, short petiole. The leaf sheaths remain persistent at the base, leaving closely spaced scars on the corm. Fruits are slightly less than 8 cm (3 inches) long, more or less triangular in shape, and contain dark brown seeds. Upper parts of the plant die back during the dry season, leaving the corm which produces new leaves when the monsoon begins. This species is well known from the Western Ghats, Anaimalai Hills, and several other South Indian hills in Dindigul and other parts of peninsular India. It has also been recorded in the Jhadol and Ogna forest ranges of Rajasthan, North India. There are reports of a similar, currently undescribed species in Thailand.
