Ice Cream Bean

Trees have long pods up to 1.5m long filled with a thick, white, juicy,'cottony' pulp surrounding each large seed and it is sweet and melting. Ingas are large attractive trees with spreading branches and lovely white and yellow pompom type flowers, flowe... Read Morering and fruiting 2-3 times per year. For best fruit set, 2 trees are required This species has the longest pods of the Inga genus, they are a very popular fruit in Latin America. The tree has the added advantage of being nitrogen fixing and is a good choice as a fast growing shade tree. They are very useful as a shady interrow tree in orchards of coffee and cacao, for example. They are fast growing, large trees and respond well to heavy pruning to control size, even coppicing. Weed Warning: This is an attractive fast growing legume tree native to Central and South America. Over the last 20 years Ice Cream Beans have gained popularity in Australia as a nitrogen fixing tree that produces large velvety pods filled with creamy sweet flesh. Its popularity has also generated concerns about its potential to spread, with the main area of concern in NSW from Taree to the Tweed region and into Queensland.