23 responses
snottiegobble starts with ... Take a look at this lot available in America! Below are over 100 named banana varieties 1. Banana "Abissinian" (Ensete ventricosum) 2. Banana "Red Abissinian" (Ensete maurelli) 3. Banana 'African Rhino Horn' 4. Banana 'Apple' (Manzano) 5. Banana 'Balbisiana' 6. Banana 'Basjoo' 7. Banana beccarii (red flowering) 8. Banana 'Belle' (Pisang Raja type) 9. Banana 'Balbisiana' 10. Banana 'Bordelon' 11. Banana 'Brazilian' 12. Banana 'Brown's Red' 13. Banana 'Burmese Blue' 14. Banana 'Cardaba' 15. Banana coccinea "Flowering Banana" 16. Banana 'Double' (Mahoi) 17. Banana 'Dwarf Brazilian' 18. Banana 'Dwarf Cavendish' 19. Banana 'Dwarf Cuban Red' (Dwarf Jamaican) 20. Banana 'Dwarf French Plantain' 21. Banana 'Dwarf Green Red' (Dwarf Jamaican) 22. Banana 'Dwarf Jamaican/Cuban Green' 23. Banana 'Dwarf Namwah' 24. Banana 'Dwarf Namwah Pearl' 25. Banana 'Dwarf Nino' 26. Banana 'Dwarf Orinoco' 27. Banana 'Dwarf Puerto Rican Plantain' 28. Banana 'Dwarf Red Jamaican' 29. Banana 'Dwarf Thai' 30. Banana 'Ebun Musak' 31. Banana 'Ele Ele' 32. Banana 'FHIA 17' (Cavendish type) 33. Banana 'FHIA 18' (Manzano type) 34. Banana 'FHIA 20" 35. Banana 'FHIA 21" Plantain 36. Banana 'FHIA 23' (Gros Michel type) 37. Banana 'FHIA SH3008' 38. Banana 'French Horn' 39. Banana 'Giant Plantain' 40. Banana 'Goldfinger' (FHIA 1) 41. Banana 'Gran Nain' 42. Banana 'High Color Mini' 43. Banana 'Hua Moa' (Plantain) 44. Banana 'Ice Cream' (Blue Java) 45. Banana 'Itinerans' 46. Banana 'Kalela' (similar to Dwarf Brazilian) 47. Banana 'Kandarian' (Cooking type) 48. Banana 'Kofi' (Dessert type) 49. Banana 'Kru' 50. Banana 'Kummunaba' 51. Banana 'Lady Finger' (not really one variety) 52. Banana 'lasiocarpa (Musella) "Chinese Yellow" 53. Banana 'Manzano' (Apple) 54. Banana 'Misi Luki' (Dessert, excellent taste) 55. Banana 'Mona Lisa' (FHIA 2) 56. Banana 'Monkey Fingers' 57. Banana 'Mysore' 58. Banana 'Namwa' (Kluai Namwa; Pisang Awak) 59. Banana 'Nino' 60. Banana 'Orinoco' 61. Banana ornata 'African Red' (ornamental) 62. Banana ornata 'Bronze' (ornamental) 63. Banana ornata 'Macro' (ornamental) 64. Banana ornata 'Milky Way' (ornamental) 65. Banana ornata 'Royal Pink' (ornamental) 66. Banana ornata 'Royal Purple' (ornamental) 67. Banana ornata 'Royal Red' (ornamental) 68. Banana 'Pace' (improved Goldfinger) 69. Banana 'Pisan Ceylon' (improved Mysore) 70. Banana 'Pitogo' 71. Banana 'Popoulu' 72. Banana 'Praying Hands' 73. Banana 'Rajapuri' 74. Banana 'Red Iholene' 75. Banana 'Red Jewell' 76. Banana 'Red Tall' 77. Banana 'Rojo' (Musa zebrina) 78. Banana 'Rowe Red' 79. Banana 'Saba' (Pisang Kepok) 80. Banana Sikkimensis (Himalayan/Indian Banana) 81. Banana 'Sum X Cross' 82. Banana 'Sumatrana X 'Zebrina' (Rojo) 83. Banana 'Super Dwarf' 84. Banana 'Super Plantain' 85. Banana 'Sweetheart' (FHIA 3) 86. Banana 'Tall Red' (Jamaican Tall Red) 87. Banana 'Thousand Fingers' 88. Banana 'Tuu Ghia' 89. Banana velutina "Pink Flowering Banana" 90. Banana 'White Iholene' 91. Banana 'Williams Hybrid' 92. Banana 'Zan Moreno' 93. Banana '1780' (Cavendish type) 94. Ornamental, Musa coccine 95. Ornamental, Musa ensete 96. Ornamental, Musa sumatrana 97. Ornamental, Musa velutina 98. Ornamental, Musa violcea 99. Ornamental, Musa Pitomba 100. Ornamental, Musa Rust 101. Ornamental, Musa Thousand Fingers 102. Ornamental, Musa Yellow 103. Ornamental, Musa Zabrina 104. Plantain+Fruit, Musa African Rhino Horn 105. Plantain+Fruit, Musa Haa-Haa 106. Plantain+Fruit, Musa Horse (or Buro) 107. Plantain+Fruit, Musa Iholena (red) 108. Plantain+Fruit, Musa Iholena (white) 109. Plantain+Fruit, Musa Orinoco 110. Plantain+Fruit, Musa Orinoco Dwarf 111. Plantain+Fruit, Musa Saba 112. Plantain Cardaba 113. Plantain Ele Ele "Hawaiian Black Banana" 114. Plantain Fehi of Fe'l 115. Plantain French Horn 116. Plantain Giant Plantain 117. Puerto Rican Dwarf | About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 5th January 2012 1:20am #UserID: 3468 Posts: |
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| About the Author coastie 5th January 2012 7:12am #UserID: 6800 Posts: |
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| About the Author trikus tattered tropics 5th January 2012 10:24am #UserID: 5279 Posts: |
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| About the Author Jo Melbourne 19th January 2012 1:56pm #UserID: 6125 Posts: |
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| About the Author Phil. 24th January 2012 8:16pm #UserID: 0 Posts: |
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| About the Author jo kingsford, nsw 24th January 2012 9:08pm #UserID: 0 Posts: |
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BJ says... Zebrina is in Australia. I've seen them around and listed on ebay from time to time. There is also an edible dwarf that grows to around 1.8m, has a huge bunch that hangs to the ground, tastes like lady finger and has a super thick trunk - its suckers look quite a bit like zebrina when small. | About the Author BJ Brisbane 24th January 2012 10:16pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: View All BJ's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Diana says... Yes, it is a bit strange that we have so little access to varieties now, considering that Cape York, PNG and southeast Asia is the area where bananas originated. It seems that they have been cultivated for 7000-10000 years in PNG http://apscience.org.au/projects/PBF_02_3/pbf_02_3.htmhttp://apscience.org.au/projects/PBF_02_3/pbf_02_3.htm> Surely there are disease resistant species (there are plenty of sexually reproducing ones). I have never seen Australian native ones for sale, although lots of other Cape York bush food is.
| About the Author Diana Brisbane 28th January 2012 10:08am #UserID: 0 Posts: |
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Kathy says... There's red dacca too - I just tried some at a Glasshouse Mountains (Qld) roadside stall - they are selling for a farmer nearby. I was thinking of trying these - they are sweet - but they do have a sort of 'odd' aftertaste - but not unpleasant - sort of like cinnamon and coriander and ??? Kathy | About the Author Kathy Maleny, Qld 29th January 2012 7:39am #UserID: 5954 Posts: View All Kathy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author trikus tattered tropics 29th January 2012 9:01am #UserID: 5279 Posts: |
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| About the Author Phil@Tyalgum Murwillumbah 29th January 2012 9:26am #UserID: 960 Posts: View All Phil@Tyalgum's Edible Fruit Trees |
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snottiegobble says... Good luck with it Phil, be interesting to see your opinion on the taste. Many americans are fanatical on growing bananas( see Bananas.org ) just like aspidistras in old English hallways ( symbols of middle class values( Wiki) there is no hope of ever getting fruit, the plant is a novelty so leaf variation & colour are paramount! Not true of course in Southern states where edible banana fruit are easily produced. | About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 29th January 2012 2:02pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: |
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Diana says... Hi Trikus, According to the wet tropics management authority, native banana species are edible and sweet (although seedy), see the bush tucker of the wet tropics fact sheet at http://www.wettropics.gov.au/st/rainforest_explorer/Library/factsheetsTTs.htm> I think there are several wild species that are edible in PNG and the Solomons too. Diana. | About the Author Diana Brisbane 29th January 2012 9:08pm #UserID: 0 Posts: |
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Cairns says... Musa banksii is the common native species with upward pointing fruit.I have grown them from seeds I have picked up.The fruit are small loaded with hard black seeds and the flesh is a pale shadow of cultivated ones.Flying foxes,birds,striped possums and other wildlife seem to enjoy them. | About the Author Cairns Cairns 29th January 2012 9:33pm #UserID: 0 Posts: |
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| About the Author trikus tattered tropics 30th January 2012 9:58am #UserID: 5279 Posts: |
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Diana says... Yes there's something to be said for improvement through breeding. e.g. there is a section in Charles Darwin's 'The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication' on gooseberries. They were transformed into a commercial fruit in his lifetime. He says 'the most interesting point in the history of the gooseberry is the steady increase in size of the fruit'. The wild gooseberry weighs about 5g. The fruit was cultivated in the early middle ages and stayed small until the 1770s, when there was a "gooseberry renaissance", as inhabitants of northern England (e.g. Manchester, Lancashire) became obsessed with competitive gardening. Darwin looked at the annual published growers register and competition results, and he notes that under the incentive of large-scale competitions with prize money, the weight doubled in 1786, tripled in 1817, increased six-fold by 1825, seven-fold by 1844, and eight-fold (the maximum possible it seems) in 1852. He interpreted this as partly due to training branches and roots, making compost, mulching and fruit-thinning, but mainly selection of seedlings with the largest fruit. 80 years to breed a modern commercial fruit from a little wild-like fruit (he mentions 'roaring lion' as an 1844 one- this is sold by Diggers). It's an impressive wild fruit that can compete from the word go. Macadamias and finger limes already have lots of improved varieties of course- the potential is out there for more species.
| About the Author Diana Brisbane 30th January 2012 4:36pm #UserID: 3004 Posts: View All Diana's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Mike says... That's right Diana with selection big improvements are possible.Darwin and Mendel had simplistic understandings of genetics by our standards but the principles were in place a long time ago and look at how far apples have come.Mutants and polyploids have also pitched in with improvements.You do need a big seed disperser to make the fruit develop and rich enough soil in the first place.Avos and mangoes are aimed at big animals that are now extinct. I reckon there is scope for improving some of our natives but we're at the 'shallow end' of the gene pool and it would be a challenge over along time. | About the Author Mike Cairns 30th January 2012 5:34pm #UserID: 0 Posts: |
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| About the Author trikus tattered tropics 31st January 2012 9:40am #UserID: 5279 Posts: |
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John Mc says... Here's some varieties I'm growing here. 18. Banana 'Dwarf Cavendish' 40. Banana 'Goldfinger' 44. Banana 'Ice Cream' (Blue Java) 69. Banana 'Pisan Ceylon' (improved Mysore) (should read Pisang) 89. Banana velutina "Pink Flowering Banana" 73. Banana 'Rajapuri' 83. Banana 'Super Dwarf' Choui Cau or could be also known as 56. Banana 'Monkey Fingers' or 87. Banana 'Thousand Fingers' | About the Author John Mc Warnervale NSW 31st January 2012 6:29pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: View All John Mc's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author John I. Melton 31st January 2012 8:53pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: View All John I.'s Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... The Rajapuri has only been in 6 months. It bared winter very well and is now in good growth at around 1.8m. The leaves are very large compared to all the other varieties I have. They look like they can barely hold themselves up, they bend over about a third of the way up the leaf and mostly point downwards from there. I'll go up the back and get a recent photo of it tomorrow if I have time and post it up. | About the Author John Mc Warnervale NSW 31st January 2012 11:05pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: View All John Mc's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jo says... Ha, bit of 'which Jo' confusion there, Jo! He wasn't talking about your plant, but my M zebrina mentioned above. M zeb is not here 'officially', but people have them here and there. Mine came from a Brissy guy who was subsequently visited by the DPI - who killed all his plants. After 3 years, I have about 12 plants. i They grow well in warmer months down here and slack off in winter. My true cold-hardy species (sikkimensis, basjoo etc) don't notice the cold. Keep 'em away from the subtropics though - could be really invasive if it escapes. | About the Author Jo Melbourne 28th February 2012 2:00pm #UserID: 6125 Posts: |
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| About the Author David Munno Para S.A. 16th March 2012 6:02pm #UserID: 6717 Posts: |
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| About the Author Jo Melbourne 17th March 2012 8:18am #UserID: 6125 Posts: |
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