Saba banana (pron. or ), is a
triploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
(
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 create ...
)
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
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, ...
originating from 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 ...
. It is primarily a
cooking banana
Cooking bananas are banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking. They may be eaten ripe or unripe and are generally starchy. Many cooking bananas are referred to as plantains (/ˈplæntɪn/, /plænˈteɪn/ ...
, though it can also be eaten raw. It is one of the most important banana varieties in
Philippine cuisine
Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...
. It is also sometimes known as the "cardaba banana", though the latter name is more correctly applied to the
cardava
Cardava bananas, also spelled cardaba or kardaba, is a triploid hybrid (ABB) banana cultivar originating from the Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can also be eaten raw. It is commonly confused with the more ubiquitous and ...
, a very similar cultivar also classified within the saba subgroup.
Description
Saba bananas have very large, robust
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 nutrien ...
s that can reach heights of . The trunk can reach diameters of . The trunk and leaves are dark blue-green in color. Like all bananas, each pseudostem flowers and bears fruits only once before dying. Each mat bears about eight suckers.
The fruits become ready for harvesting 150 to 180 days after flowering, longer than other banana varieties. Each plant has a potential yield of per bunch. Typically, a bunch has 16 hands, with each hand having 12 to 20 fingers.
Saba bananas grow best in well-drained, fertile soils with full sun exposure. They inherit most of the characteristics of ''Musa balbisiana'', making them tolerant of dry soil and colder conditions of temperate climates. They require minimum rainfall and can survive long dry seasons as long as adequate irrigation is provided. However, their fruits may not ripen under such conditions. They also have good resistance against Sigatoka leaf spot diseases.
The fruits are long and in diameter. Depending on the ripeness, the fruits are distinctively squarish and angular. The flesh is white and starchy; the starchiness makes this variety particularly suited for cooking. They are usually harvested while still green 150 to 180 days after blooming, especially if they are to be transported over long distances.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
![4377Cuisine_and_foods_of_Baliuag,_Bulacan_18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/4377Cuisine_and_foods_of_Baliuag%2C_Bulacan_18.jpg)
The saba 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 create ...
) hybrid of the seeded bananas ''
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 th ...
'' and ''
Musa acuminata
''Musa acuminata'' is a species of banana native to South Asia, 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 ''Mus ...
''.
Its official designation is ''Musa acuminata'' × ''balbisiana'' (ABB Group) 'Saba'.
Synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
include:
* ''Musa'' × ''paradisiaca''
L. cultigroup Plantain cv. 'Saba'
* ''Musa sapientum''
L. var. ''compressa''
(Blanco) N.G.Teodoro
'Saba' is known in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
as saba, cardaba, sweet plantain, compact banana, and papaya banana. Saba is also known by other
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
s such as ''saba'', ''sab-a'', or ''kardaba'' in
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
; ''biu gedang saba'' in
Javanese; ''pisang nipah'' or ''pisang abu'' in
Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
; ''dippig'' in
Ilocano; ''Burro'' or ''Rulo'' in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
; ''pisang kepok'' in
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
; ''kluai hin'' in
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
; and ''opo-’ulu'' or ''dippig'' (from Ilocano migrants) in
Hawaiian.
Saba bananas are part of the saba subgroup (ABB), which also includes the very similar '
Cardava
Cardava bananas, also spelled cardaba or kardaba, is a triploid hybrid (ABB) banana cultivar originating from the Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can also be eaten raw. It is commonly confused with the more ubiquitous and ...
' cultivar. Both were once erroneously identified as BBB polyploids, and both are used extensively in Philippine cuisine, with the latter being more popular in the
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...
and
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
regions. The subgroup also includes the 'Benedetta' cultivar, also known as 'Inabaniko' and 'Uht Kapakap' in
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
, 'Praying Hands' in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, and 'Ripping' in the Philippines.
Uses
![Banana chips from the Philippines made with Saba bananas 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Banana_chips_from_the_Philippines_made_with_Saba_bananas_01.jpg)
Saba bananas are one of the most important banana cultivars in Philippine cuisine.
The fruits provide the same nutritional value as
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es.
They can be eaten raw, boiled, or cooked into various
traditional Filipino desserts and dishes such as ''
maruya/sinapot'', ''
turrón
Turrón (), or torrone (), is a southwestern European nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped into either a rectangular tablet or a round cake. It is frequently c ...
'', ''
halo-halo
Halo-halo, correctly spelled ''haluhalo'', Tagalog for "mixed" (the more common spelling instead literally equating to "mix-mix") is a popular cold dessert in the Philippines made up of crushed ice, evaporated milk or coconut milk, and vario ...
'' and ''
ginanggang
''Ginanggang'', ''guinanggang'', or ''ginang-gang'' () is a snack food of grilled skewered bananas brushed with margarine and sprinkled with sugar. It originates from the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It literally means "grilled" in Cebu ...
''. It is also popular in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in dishes like ''
pisang aroma'' (similar to the Filipino ''turrón''), ''
pisang goreng
A banana fritter is a fritter made by deep frying battered banana or plantain in hot oil. It is a common dish across Southeast Asia and South India,Kerala.
Varieties Brunei
Banana fritters are a traditional snack in Brunei, where they are cal ...
'' (fried bananas), ''
kolak
Kolak (or kolek) is an Indonesian dessert based on palm sugar or coconut sugar, coconut milk, and pandanus leaf (''P. amaryllifolius''). A variation in which banana is added, is called ''kolak pisang'' or banana kolak. Other variations may a ...
pisang'', and ''pisang kepok kukus'' (steamed banana).
Saba is also processed into a Filipino condiment known as
banana ketchup
Banana ketchup (or banana sauce) is a popular Philippine fruit ketchup condiment made from banana, sugar, vinegar, and spices. Its natural color is brownish-yellow but it is often dyed red to resemble tomato ketchup. Banana ketchup was first ...
, invented by the Filipino food technologist and war heroine
Maria Y. Orosa
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
(1893–1945). The dark red
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
of saba (banana hearts, locally known in the Philippines as ''puso ng saba'') are edible. The
waxy, green leaves are also used as traditional wrappings of native dishes in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. Fibers can also be taken from the trunk and leaves and used to manufacture ropes, mats, and sacks.
Saba bananas are also cultivated as ornamental plants and shade trees for their large size and showy coloration.
Pests and diseases
In comparison to most other types of cooking bananas, saba bananas are highly resistant to black sigatoka (''
Mycosphaerella fifiensis'') and are more tolerant of drought conditions and soil nutrient deficiencies. As such, they are viewed as a possible source for breeding new hybrid cultivars to replace more susceptible cooking banana cultivars grown today (in particular, the threatened
East African Highland bananas
Matoke, locally also known as matooke, amatooke in Buganda (Central Uganda), ekitookye in southwestern Uganda, ekitooke in western Uganda, kamatore in Lugisu (Eastern Uganda), ebitooke in northwestern Tanzania, igitoki in Rwanda, Burundi and b ...
).
Common pests
* Fruit-scarring beetles
* Banana thrips
* Mealy bug
* Banana aphids
* Corm weevil
* Borers
* Root nematodes
* Grasshoppers
* Banana skipper butterfly
Common diseases
* Panama disease/''Fusarium'' wilt
* Sigatoka
* Moko or bacterial wilt
* Black leaf streak
* Banana bunchy top disease
See also
*
Banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
*
List of banana cultivars
The following is a list of banana cultivars and the groups into which they are classified. Almost all modern cultivated varieties (cultivars) of edible bananas and plantains are hybrids and polyploids of two wild, seeded banana species, ''Musa ...
*
Plantain
Plantain may refer to:
Plants and fruits
* Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking
** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa''
* ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...
References
External links
Musapedia page on Saba{{Banana
Banana cultivars