Garden plants for Ethiopia
57 plants that appear on garden plant lists for Ethiopia: vegetables, herbs, fruit, flowers, shrubs and trees that gardeners there commonly grow, native or introduced. Each links to a growing guide with spacing, sun, water, hardiness, toxicity and sources.
Ethiopia spans more than one climate. Being on this list does not mean a plant suits your own site: check its hardiness and water needs against your local conditions, and avoid plants listed as invasive in your area.
Plan a garden with these plants →
Vegetables (17)
- African eggplant (garden egg) Solanum aethiopicum
- African nightshade (managu) Solanum scabrum
- African yam bean Sphenostylis stenocarpa
- Bitter leaf Gymnanthemum amygdalinum
- Cabbage Brassica oleracea var. capitata
- Chickpea Cicer arietinum
- Chili pepper Capsicum annuum (hot types)
- Enset (false banana) Ensete ventricosum
- Ethiopian kale (gomenzer) Brassica carinata
- Garlic Allium sativum
- Kale Brassica oleracea var. sabellica
- Lablab (hyacinth bean, tua paep) Lablab purpureus
- Lentil Lens culinaris
- Onion Allium cepa
- Potato Solanum tuberosum
- Sesame Sesamum indicum
- Tomato Solanum lycopersicum
Herbs (3)
- African wormwood (wilde-als, umhlonyane) Artemisia afra
- Black mustard Brassica nigra · invasive in some regions
- Korarima (Ethiopian cardamom) Aframomum corrorima
Fruit (5)
- Avocado Persea americana
- Banana Musa x paradisiaca
- Indian jujube (ber, phutsa) Ziziphus mauritiana · invasive in some regions
- Mango (dwarf) Mangifera indica
- Papaya Carica papaya
Flowers (5)
- Agapanthus Agapanthus praecox
- Bougainvillea Bougainvillea glabra
- Flame lily (gloriosa) Gloriosa superba
- Noog (niger seed) Guizotia abyssinica
- Safflower Carthamus tinctorius
Shrubs (6)
- Arabica coffee Coffea arabica
- Corn plant (mass cane, fragrant dracaena) Dracaena fragrans
- Desert rose Adenium obesum
- Pencil tree (firesticks, milk bush) Euphorbia tirucalli
- Pigeon pea Cajanus cajan
- True indigo Indigofera tinctoria
Trees (16)
- African moringa (cabbage tree, shiferaw) Moringa stenopetala
- African redwood (kosso) Hagenia abyssinica
- African tulip tree (Nandi flame) Spathodea campanulata · invasive in some regions
- Apple-ring acacia (winter thorn, ana tree) Faidherbia albida
- Cape chestnut Calodendrum capense
- Christ’s thorn jujube (sidr) Ziziphus spina-christi
- Desert date (soapberry tree, lalob) Balanites aegyptiaca
- Doum palm Hyphaene thebaica
- Gum arabic tree (hashab, kikwata) Senegalia senegal
- Jacaranda Jacaranda mimosifolia · invasive in some regions
- Jackalberry (African ebony, jakkalsbessie) Diospyros mespiliformis
- Nile tulip (markhamia) Markhamia lutea
- Silky oak (southern silky oak) Grevillea robusta · invasive in some regions
- Sycamore fig Ficus sycomorus
- Tasmanian blue gum Eucalyptus globulus · invasive in some regions
- Umbrella thorn acacia Vachellia tortilis
Grasses (5)
- Barley Hordeum vulgare
- Finger millet (ragi) Eleusine coracana
- Pearl millet Cenchrus americanus
- Sorghum Sorghum bicolor
- Teff Eragrostis tef
Reference values for planning, not horticultural, veterinary or medical advice. Varieties, soils and local climates differ: check with a local nursery or extension service.