The Blue Java (also known as blue bananas, Ice Cream banana, Hawaiian banana, Ney Mannan, Krie, or Cenizo) is a hardy, cold-tolerant banana

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

known for its sweet aromatic fruit, which is said to have an

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

-like consistency and flavor reminiscent of

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

. It is native to Southeast Asia and is a hybrid of two species of banana native to Southeast Asia — ''Musa balbisiana'' and ''Musa acuminata.''

Taxonomy and nomenclature

The Blue Java banana is a triploid (

ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

) hybrid of the seeded banana ''

Musa balbisiana ''Musa balbisiana'', also known simply as plantain, is a wild-type species of banana. It is one of the ancestors of modern cultivated bananas, along with '' Musa acuminata''. Description It grows lush leaves in clumps with a more upright habit t ...

'' and ''

Musa acuminata ''Musa acuminata'' is a species of banana native to Southern Asia, its range comprising the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Many of the modern edible dessert bananas are from this species, although some are hybrids with '' Musa balbisia ...

''. Its accepted name is ''Musa acuminata'' × ''balbisiana'' (ABB Group) 'Blue Java'. Synonyms include: * ''Musa acuminata × balbisiana'' (ABB Group) 'Ice Cream' In

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

it is known as the 'Ice Cream banana' and in Fiji as the 'Hawaiian banana'. It is also called 'Krie' in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and 'Cenizo' in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Description

Blue Java bananas can grow to a height of . They are cold-tolerant and are wind-resistant because of their strong

pseudostem A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrie ...

s and root systems. The leaves are silvery green in color. The fruit bunches are small, bearing seven to nine hands. The fruit are in length and exhibit a characteristic silvery blue color when unripe. The fruit turn a pale yellow when ripe, with white creamy flesh. They bloom around 15 to 24 months after planting and can be harvested after 115 to 150 days.

Uses

Blue Java bananas are popular bananas that can be eaten fresh or cooked. They are known for their fragrant flavour which has a

-like custard taste. The fruit goes well with

. They are also popular as ornamentals and shade plants for their unusual blue coloration, large size, and tolerance to temperate climates.

Pests and diseases

Common pests

* Borers * Grasshoppers *

Root-knot nematode Root-knot nematodes are plant-parasitic nematodes from the genus ''Meloidogyne''. They exist in soil in areas with hot climates or short winters. About 2000 plants worldwide are susceptible to infection by root-knot nematodes and they cause appr ...

Common diseases

Panama disease Panama disease (or Fusarium wilt) is a plant disease that infects banana plants (''Musa'' spp.). It is a wilting disease caused by the fungus ''Fusarium oxysporum'' f. sp. ''cubense'' (Foc). The pathogen is resistant to fungicides and its cont ...

* Black sigatoka

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Java banana Australian cuisine Banana cultivars