Banana Sweet
AppleBanana Sweet
Origin and History
Banana Sweet originated as a chance seedling with C. E. Blackwell, Titusville, New Jersey, about 1867. This is a sweet winter apple with an attractive appearance. It should not be confused with the Winter Banana, which was introduced by Greening Brothers of Monroe, Michigan, in 1890; that variety is not a sweet apple. According to the source, this variety had not yet been fruited in New York at the time of publication.
Tree
Tree spreading, upright, vigorous, rather dense. Twigs rather slender with short internodes. Bark reddish-brown. Buds not prominent.
Fruit
Fruit large. Form roundish conical, sometimes one-sided. Stem medium to large, long, slender. Cavity rather small, moderately deep, often with outspreading, irregularly broken, russet patches. Calyx rather small, closed. Calyx tube conical, approaching funnel-form. Basin small to medium, somewhat irregularly corrugated, rather deep.
Skin greenish-yellow with a pale blush on the exposed side; highly colored specimens are blushed. Dots minute, scattering. Prevailing effect yellow.
Core medium size, axile. Carpels roundish. Seeds medium size, obtuse.
Flesh white, fine-grained, tender, juicy, sweet, good.
Season
January to March in New Jersey; may extend to April.
Uses
Not described in source.
Subtypes or Variants
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1901) from Illinois
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
View original book sources (1)
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)BANANA SWEET.
REFERENCES. 1. Rural N. Y., 1885:278. fig. 2. Hexamer, Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt., 1895:69.
This is a sweet winter apple, attractive in appearance. Color greenish-yellow, highly colored specimens are blushed. Season January to March in New Jersey. So far as we know it has not been fruited in New York. This should not be confused with the Winter Banana introduced by Greening Brothers of Monroe, Michigan, in 1890, which is not a sweet apple.
Historical. Banana originated as a chance seedling with C. E. Blackwell, Titusville, N. J., about 1867.
TREE.
Tree spreading, upright, vigorous, rather dense. Twigs rather slender; internodes short. Bark reddish-brown. Buds not prominent.
FRUIT.
Fruit large. Form roundish conical, sometimes one-sided. Stem medium to large, long, slender. Cavity rather small, moderately deep, often with outspreading, irregularly broken, russet patches. Calyx rather small, closed. Basin small to medium, somewhat irregularly corrugated, rather deep. Skin greenish-yellow with a pale blush on the exposed side. Dots minute, scattering. Prevailing effect yellow. Calyx tube conical, approaching funnel-form. Core medium size, axile. Carpels roundish. Seeds medium size, obtuse. Flesh white, fine-grained, tender, juicy, sweet, good. Season, January to March or April.