Common Name: Monkey Banana

General Information

Monkey banana is a semi-deciduous tree with a pyramidal or roundish crown; it can grow 10 - 20 metres tall. The bole can be 60 - 80cm in diameter[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of food, fibre and wood.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Brazil.

Habitat

Atlantic rainforest[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Semi-deciduous Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in dappled shade[]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. The pulp is sweet, succulent and very tasty, but there are a lot of seeds and very little pulp[]. The greenish fruit is about 7cm long and 4cm wide[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the trunk can be used for making ropes[].

The wood is of medium-texture, cross-grained, moderately heavy, with poor mechanical properties and not durable[]. It is only used for low value items such as boards, boxes and toys[].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Sow the seed in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed. A germination rate in excess of 50% can be expected[]. Seedlings grow away fairly slowly[].

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