Edible bananas in New Zealand

A non-exhaustive list of common edible varieties (information from Kotare Subtropicals catalogue).

• ‘Raja Puri’ – Indian banana, up to 2.4m in height. Small, very sweet fruit. Best used as a landscape banana due to its ability to withstand neglect and still look great. Also suited for hothouse growing.

• ‘Misi Luki’ – Subtropical banana, 3-5m in height. Huge bunches, medium, fat fruit that taste sweet and creamy. Hardy in northern areas.

• ‘Pome’ – A tall Brazilian plant up to 5m in height, with small, sweet, acidic-tasting fruit. Sturdy and vigorous, it is highly productive, cold hardy and wind tolerant. Fruit shape with pinched end.

• ‘Mysore’ – Subtropical dessert banana, 3-4m in height. Huge bunches, with small to medium, fat fruit that taste creamy and sweet. A vigorous plant, it is hardy in the north.

• ‘Pacha Nadan’ – Improved Australian ladyfinger type, it grows 3-4m in height with very sweet, small fruit. Hardy, and productive in northern areas, it is sometimes available at the Auckland Friends of Botanic Garden sales.

• ‘Pisang Awak’/‘Ducasse’ – A particularly vigorous and hardy plant growing 4-5m high. In subtropical conditions, it produces tightly packed, small bananas. Relatively cool tolerant and vigorous in New Zealand conditions, and relatively productive. Needs extremely good wind protection. Sometimes available at the Auckland Friends of Botanic Garden sales. Incidentally, pisang means banana in Malay.

• ‘Blue Java’ – A hardy, cold-tolerant banana cultivar known for its sweet aromatic fruit, said to have an ice cream-like consistency.

• ‘Hamoa’ – Tropical banana similar to ‘Misi Luki’. 3-5m in height, with medium to large bunches of sweet fruit. • ‘Goldfinger’ – Honduran hybrid banana that grows 3-4m in height. Hardy and robust, with black stems and broad, sometimes wavy, leaves. Very sweet, tangy, curved fruit.

• ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ – A short chunky plant, it can reach 2m when fully grown outdoors. Fruit is tasty, slender and curved. Frost tender, it needs shelter and warmth, and is most suited to a hothouse.

• Plantain Starchy cooking banana that is not palatable fresh. They are generally baked, boiled or used to make banana fritters.