Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Houseplants >> Plants for Details >> Tree

Red Abyssinian Banana (Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'): Dramatic Tropical Foliage

The red Abyssinian banana, cultivar 'Maurelii', is a stunning ornamental banana grown for its enormous, burgundy-tinged leaves. It creates an instant tropical effect in gardens and containers.

Botanical Profile

Family:	Musaceae
Genus:	Ensete
Species:	ventricosum
Cultivar:	Maurelii
Synonyms:	Ensete edule, Musa ensete, Musa arnoldiana, Ensete arnoldianum

Description and Features

This fast-growing herbaceous perennial reaches 10–20 feet tall. The massive paddle-shaped leaves are green with prominent burgundy midribs and margins, especially in full sun. The trunk-like pseudostem is also reddish. It rarely flowers in cultivation; grown for foliage only.

Cultivation and Uses

'Maurelii' prefers full sun to partial shade, rich moist soil, and regular feeding. It is not frost-hardy; in cold climates, grow in containers and overwinter indoors or treat as an annual. Use as a focal point in tropical borders or large pots.

Note

Unlike edible bananas (Musa), Ensete does not produce suckers; it is monocarpic, dying after flowering.

Tree: Wild Red Currants in the Berkshires: Native or Escaped?; Abyssinian Red (Banana Plant) Overwatered by Caretaker: Move Outdoors, Dry Out, Hope for Recovery; Caring for Wind-Damaged Abyssinian Banana Plants; Reviving a Freeze-Damaged Red Banana: Cutting Back to the Corm; Dog-Damaged Red Banana: Cut Below Wound for Regrowth; Botanical Tulips: The Wild, Long-Lived Alternatives to Hybrid Tulips; False Banana (Ensete ventricosum): Ethiopia's Staple Starch Crop; Ensete ventricosum: The Majestic False Banana; Canna 'Musifolia': The Giant Banana Canna; Ananas Bromeliad, Red Pineapple (Ananas bracteatus)

Garden Articles

Ethiopian Red Banana: Flowering Means the End for That Stem

Dwarf Red Banana Fruiting Timeline and Care

Overwintering Red Banana (Ensete) in the Pacific Northwest

Red Banana Plant Growing Strange Bud 4 Feet Up? It's an Inflorescence—Fruit Will Form, Then Plant Dies

False Golden Polypody (Phlebodium pseudoaureum)

Red Banana (Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'): Dramatic Tropical Foliage

False Freesia (Anomatheca laxa): Dainty Red Star Sprays

Plants

Red Banana Browning After Insecticide: Chemical Stress, Not Bugs

Red Banana (Ensete) Malformed Leaves: Stress Diagnosis

Ethiopian Red & Chinese Yellow Banana Care in UK: Move to Sun, Fertilize

Red Banana Palm Leaves Full of Holes? Slugs or Leafcutter Bees—Here's How to Tell

Monkey Pod Tree (Samanea saman): The Majestic Rain Tree of the Tropics

Crow Poison (Nothoscordum bivalve)

Red Leaved Banana: A Striking Tropical Foliage Plant