About This Plant
The fruit of icecream bean
Let’s talk about the fruit’s quality first: Ice cream bean is often described as having soft, fluffy, sweet pulp that tastes like vanilla ice cream. Yes, the pulp tastes sweet and nice, but in most cases it is only thin. There are apparently huge and very edible clonal trees in the Amazon, but unfortunately, these are not available in Australia. What’s available are unselected seedling trees, and wouldn’t that be a nice breeding project?
Note: the trees sold are about 10 cm more or less at the time of writing! But they grow quite fast.
Pioneer species and nurse tree
Having described the fruit quality previously, does the tree have any functions besides being very pretty? Ice cream bean is highly valued in permaculture circles for its ability to fix nitrogen. It is a fast-growing pioneer species. It likes lots of water and can be grown along a creek side. Ice cream bean can cope very well with our poorly drained clay soil.
As a legume, it fixes nitrogen, supports microbial activity, and fungal networks. It acts as a nurse tree, which helps to establish other fruit trees.
How to grow ice cream bean
Grows best in frost-free subtropical to tropical climates; will tolerate only very light, brief frosts and is damaged by freezing temperatures. Prefers full sun for strong growth but will handle light shade, and thrives in well-drained to seasonally moist soils, including heavier clay if not permanently waterlogged. Once established it is fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing, and fairly resilient, but young plants need protection from cold, wind, and prolonged wet feet.
The hotter the climate the faster it grows!
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