Editing Ensete (section)

== Taxonomy ==
The genus ''Ensete'' was first described by [[Paul Fedorowitsch Horaninow]] (or [[Paul Fedorowitsch Horaninov|Horaninov]], 1796–1865) in his ''[[Prodromus Monographiae Scitaminarum]]'' of 1862 in which he created a single species, ''Ensete edule''. However, the genus did not receive general recognition until 1947 when it was revived by [[Ernest Entwistle Cheesman|E. E. Cheesman]] in the first of a series of papers in the ''[[Kew Bulletin]]'' on the classification of the bananas, with a total of 25 species.<ref>Cheesman, E. E. 1947. Classification of the bananas. I. The genus ''Ensete'' Horan and the genus ''Musa'' L. Kew Bulletin (GBR), 2: 97-117</ref>

Taxonomically, the genus ''Ensete'' has shrunk since Cheesman revived the [[taxon]]. Cheesman acknowledged that field study might reveal [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonymy]] and the most recent review of the genus by Simmonds (1960) listed just six. Recently the number has increased to seven as the Flora of [[China]] has, not entirely convincingly, reinstated ''Ensete wilsonii''. There is one species in [[Thailand]], somewhat resembling ''E. superbum'', that has not been formally described, and possibly other Asian species.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

It is possible to separate ''Ensete'' into its African and Asian species.

;Africa
:''[[Ensete gilletii]]'' synonym ''[[Ensete livingstonianum]]'' - native range W. Tropical Africa to Malawi
:''[[Ensete homblei]]'' -  native range is SE. DR Congo to N. Zambia
:''[[Ensete perrieri]]'' – endemic to [[Madagascar]] but intriguingly like the Asian ''E. glaucum''
:''[[Ensete ventricosum]]'' – enset or false banana, widely cultivated as a food plant in Ethiopia

;Asia
:''[[Ensete glaucum]]'' – widespread in Asia from India to Papua New Guinea
:''[[Ensete superbum]]'' – Western Ghats of India
:''[[Ensete wilsonii]]'' – [[Yunnan]], China, but doubtfully distinct from ''E. glaucum''
:''Ensete'' sp. "Thailand" – possibly a new species or a disjunct population of ''E. superbum''

=== Extinct species ===
''Ensete oregonense'' [[Clarno Formation]], Oregon, United States, [[Eocene]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Manchester |first1=Steven R. |last2=Kress |first2=W. John |date=1993-11-01 |title=Fossil bananas (Musaceae): Ensete oregonense sp. nov. from the Eocene of western North America and its phytogeographic significance |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1993.tb15363.x |journal=American Journal of Botany |language=en |volume=80 |issue=11 |pages=1264–1272 |doi=10.1002/j.1537-2197.1993.tb15363.x |bibcode=1993AmJB...80.1264M |issn=0002-9122}}</ref>