Obsidian banana?

robguz24 · 02-23-2013, 05:16 PM

I have a chance to buy something called an Obsidian Banana that was imported from Brazil. It is supposed to be seedless and edible. It has lots of black in the leaves, almost variegated. Supposedly a very thick trunk and takes years to fruit. Anyone ever heard of it? Can't find anything online and the seller doesn't know another name for it. It looks like an ensete to me, but I don't have any ensete so who knows.

Gabe15 · 02-23-2013, 11:39 PM

That is an Ensete ventricosum, aka "Abyssinian Banana", sounds like someone misheard the name, and thought it was "obsidian". It does have a very thick pseudostem, it does take years to fruit, but should not have seedless fruit, unless the are not pollinated (they can self pollinate so this would be rare) and have a pseudo-parthenocarpic fruit which I have seen occasionally in some wild bananas. It would be a neat plant to have though if the price isn't outrageous.

robguz24 · 02-24-2013, 04:25 AM

Thanks, Gabe. I guess I'm learning because it didn't look like any musa I have seen. Someone else bought it, which is fine because I really want to focus on plants I can eat, though I can still appreciate something just for beauty. The seller was a UH Hilo/Hawaii Community College student who had gotten it through her program via UH importing it. It's possible they were mistaken about the fruit, and it was someone who talked to the seller who called it "obsidian" so maybe the seller knew the correct word.

Magilla Gorilla · 02-25-2013, 05:01 PM

Aloha Rob,

Gabe is correct. They are really nice landscape plants but no fruit to eat. I had one flower in Santa Barbara in 2011. It grew taller than my house and the flower was huge. The width of the plant was larger than your waist. Lowes has them here in Kona.

Aloha,

Andrew

02-23-2013, 05:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
robguz24 Rob Location: Kalapana, Hawaii Find me on the map! Zone: 11 Name: Rob Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,506 BananaBucks : 269,210 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1,320 Times Was Thanked 4,961 Times in 1,080 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 204 Times	Obsidian banana? I have a chance to buy something called an Obsidian Banana that was imported from Brazil. It is supposed to be seedless and edible. It has lots of black in the leaves, almost variegated. Supposedly a very thick trunk and takes years to fruit. Anyone ever heard of it? Can't find anything online and the seller doesn't know another name for it. It looks like an ensete to me, but I don't have any ensete so who knows. __________________ My micro-farm Stay on my Big Island banana farm cottage Last edited by robguz24 : 02-23-2013 at 07:00 PM.

02-23-2013, 11:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
Gabe15 Moderator Gabe15's Photo Gallery Location: Oahu, Hawaii Find me on the map! Zone: 12 Name: Gabe Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 3,892 BananaBucks : 13,350,137 Feedback: 5 / 100% Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 8,241 Times in 2,200 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 8 Times	Re: Obsidian banana? That is an Ensete ventricosum, aka "Abyssinian Banana", sounds like someone misheard the name, and thought it was "obsidian". It does have a very thick pseudostem, it does take years to fruit, but should not have seedless fruit, unless the are not pollinated (they can self pollinate so this would be rare) and have a pseudo-parthenocarpic fruit which I have seen occasionally in some wild bananas. It would be a neat plant to have though if the price isn't outrageous. __________________ Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

02-24-2013, 04:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
robguz24 Rob Location: Kalapana, Hawaii Find me on the map! Zone: 11 Name: Rob Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,506 BananaBucks : 269,210 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1,320 Times Was Thanked 4,961 Times in 1,080 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 204 Times	Re: Obsidian banana? Thanks, Gabe. I guess I'm learning because it didn't look like any musa I have seen. Someone else bought it, which is fine because I really want to focus on plants I can eat, though I can still appreciate something just for beauty. The seller was a UH Hilo/Hawaii Community College student who had gotten it through her program via UH importing it. It's possible they were mistaken about the fruit, and it was someone who talked to the seller who called it "obsidian" so maybe the seller knew the correct word. __________________ My micro-farm Stay on my Big Island banana farm cottage

02-25-2013, 05:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
Magilla Gorilla Magilla Gorilla's Photo Gallery Location: Holualoa, HI Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: Andrew Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 727 BananaBucks : 211,615 Feedback: 6 / 100% Said "Thanks" 612 Times Was Thanked 1,183 Times in 357 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 79 Times	Re: Obsidian banana? Aloha Rob, Gabe is correct. They are really nice landscape plants but no fruit to eat. I had one flower in Santa Barbara in 2011. It grew taller than my house and the flower was huge. The width of the plant was larger than your waist. Lowes has them here in Kona. Aloha, Andrew __________________ Andrew

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