ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the degree of homogeneity among perennial, vegetatively propagated tuber plants, their cultivation systems and domestication processes by exploring interactions between humans and two such plants. It focuses on the different biological, environmental and utilitarian attributes of enset and yams and how they may have favoured the development of certain forms of intensified human-plant interactions. The morphology and life cycle of enset are highly consistent with characterisations of useful tuber plants: the entire plant is perennial and yields a large package of carbohydrates per plant. Harvesting a wild yam plant disturbs the soil around it. This may make the plant slightly more vulnerable to forest predators, but thorns usually protect the perennial crown of the tuber. Humans can affect the densities and distribution of plants by disturbing natural vegetation. The distribution and use of these and other economically important indigenous plants in other parts of southwest Ethiopia require future consideration.
