A large tropical African plant with large leaves, similar to a banana but not producing edible fruit; also called false banana or Abyssinian banana.
From Amharic ensete or ensett, the native name for this plant in Ethiopia and East Africa. The word entered English through botanical nomenclature as scientists documented African flora.
Ensete is amazing because it's been cultivated in Ethiopia for thousands of years as a food staple (the corm and stalk are edible), but it's basically a banana's non-fruit-bearing cousin that everyone overlooked until botanists properly documented it.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.