Ethiopian False Banana

One of the translations for the word talḥ is a banana tree. It appears once in the Qur’ān in reference to one of the blessings that believers will receive after the Day of Judgement: ‘They will dwell amid thornless Lote trees and trees of clustered banana.’

Native to Eastern Africa, Ensete ventricosum (called enset or ἴnsät) is a close relative of Musa, the banana. In Ethiopia, enset may pre-date the cultivation of the banana, and it is believed to have been used in ancient Egypt to produce fermentation in beer.

Painted from specimens found in Russell and Paloma Gardens near Whanganui New Zealand.

Grows at Kew in the Temperate House.

Completed painting size: 54 x 72cm
Main picture leaves and flowers x 6, pods x 2, gland x 15, flower detail x 15
Watercolour on paper