Frank Adam

Hello,
A Collegue just told me, that in Thailand is growing a species of bananas, that is completely black, even the fruits.
Does anybody know the name of this plant?
Greetings from Germany:
Frank Adam

luvcrochet

Hello Frank, I am not sure about the banana that you are talking about, I have a Black banana that the fruit is supposed to be black skinned and the inside orange and it is called a Ele Ele, very hard to find as I was on a waiting list for a few years and only able to get one tray of them. They start out green with bits of red on the leaves and then as they get older are supposed to be almost black stem with green leaves. I will do some research and see what I can find on the thailand black banana and see what I can dig up.

blessings to you

Debra

MediaHound

I have the Black Balbisiana from Thailand.





The pseudostem is black and the leaves are green.

I am not sure if the fruit will be black but I presume so. This is also a seeded banana.

Regards

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luvcrochet

That is a nice looking banana! Let me know when it seeds perhaps we can do a trade later on. My ele ele's are not as large as your thailand banana, but they are growing well. Hopefully next year they will really put some size on them. I got them a little late to plant in the ground this year and have left them in pots but they are about a foot or more tall and very healthy looking. I hope to plant them next year on about an acre of ground and have a little banana orchard.

Keep me informed on your thailand banana it is a very interesting plant.

Blessings

Debra

Gabe15

'ele'ele has green fruit. the ones with "black" fruit are usually those with very dark red or purple fruit that are so dark they look almost black, but ive never seen truly black skin on banana fruit. it really could be anything, its hard to say what something like that may be without seeing pictures.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

luvcrochet

Hello, I have the Kru also but may have mixed up my descriptions. I do have my bananas labled correctly though and that is a plus ) I got the ele ele from Agristarts out of Florida and they are the tissue cultured ele ele. I tagged them as soon as I re potted them. I try to look up all the different varieties of bananas that I acquire and can surely get the descriptions running together. My ele ele are only about 18" tall right now and are green with red spotches on the leaves and a few on the stem. I am learning things about bananas every day and really.

Thanks so much

Blessings

Debra

luvcrochet

Okay, had to go back and investigate the ele ele and this is what I found. It has green skin that ripens to yellow and has an orange flesh. Here is a large part of the description that I had found:

ELE ELE
SEE Seychelles Plantian (009)
Hawaiian Black (004), Black Hawaiian, Seychelles Plantain (009)

DESCRIPTION:
A Hawaiian cooking variety that is known for its very dark pseudostem. [i]t gets a purplish hue, especially in more acid volcanic type soil. Full sized fruit. (011) (004) (010)Outstanding Hawaiian variety with a blackish purple cast to it's leaf sheaths, petioles and midrib. Tall variety ... producing large bunches of delicious orange fleshed fruits. Very sturdy withstanding well to winds. Excellent for cooking or eating (061)A distinctive Hawaiian variety giving to its almost black leaf sheathes, petioles, and midribs. The latter two used in weaving hats and other articles. The plants ... produce large bunches of orange fleshed cooking bananas of good flavor. (007)Has the distinction of being larger in girth than any banana. Fruit of this clone is best eaten cooked. Average hardiness, attractive brown to black coloration. (009)The Hawaiian translation of dark colored, black, blackish is ele ele. Prior to the abolition of the kapu system where many facets of life were kapu or forbidden to the commoner, the royalty enjoyed uniquely different fruits and vegetables. This is one of many plants that were reserved solely for royalty. This unusually colorful plantain type [is] quite strong and able to withstand moderate winds. Displays blackish petioles, midribs and leaf sheaths. Leaves are green and pseudostem is of a dark brown/blackish coloring. Fruits are green that ripen to a yellow color and are delicious. Keikis (young growing plants [or pups]). (031)The plant grows quite tall. The stem is sturdy and the overall appearance of the plant is that the entire pseudostem is dark brown or black. The leaves are green. The fruit is between a plantain and a banana and the flavor is delicious. This plant is a vigorous grower and stands up well to wind. (032)[A]ccording to legend a sacred plant of [Hawaii's] royalty - commoners were forbidden to grow it! A big colorful banana with great tasting fruit, usually cooked. But it is only of "average cold hardiness" (i.e., not so good), so probably only good for such use in Southern California or very frost free, warm areas of Nothern California. Its best use in all areas is probably as a substantial, striking, semideciduous ornamental landscape specimen, due to its impressive height, dark burgundy to maroon black leaf undersides, and similarly marked trunks, which have the greatest girth of any edible banana known. (079)Hawaiian variety with almost black sheathes, petioles, and midribs large bunches of orange fleshed cooking bananas (063)The trunk and leaf petioles of this Polynesian variety are very dark brown to black in color. Its delicious pulp is an orange color and it is usually cooked before being eaten. (105)Hawaiian variety