Collection: Ice Cream Bean

The ice cream bean tree is a fast-growing tropical legume whose long green pods hold sweet white pulp that tastes like vanilla ice cream. Everglades Farm grows its ice cream bean trees in Homestead, Florida and ships them in their pots. This collection has the long fruit Inga edulis and the short fruit pacay, Inga feuilleei.

Ice Cream Bean Trees for Sale

• Ice cream bean tree, long fruit (Inga edulis). The classic ice cream bean, with ribbed pods that can grow longer than a foot. It is in stock today as a 2 to 3 foot tree in a 3-gallon pot.
• Ice cream bean tree, short fruit pacay (Inga feuilleei). The Andean pacay, with shorter, wider pods and thick pulp.
• Ice cream bean tree, short fruit pacay, air layered. The same pacay rooted from a branch of a fruiting tree, so it carries the parent tree's fruit.

Ice Cream Bean Tree Botanical Identity and Species

The ice cream bean tree belongs to the genus Inga in the legume family, the same plant family as peas and beans. More than a hundred wild Inga species grow in Central and South America, and a handful are grown for their sweet pods.

Inga edulis, the long fruit ice cream bean

Inga edulis is the species most people mean by ice cream bean tree. It is a tall tropical tree native to the Amazon basin of Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia. Its pods are cylindrical and deeply ribbed, often twisted, and run from about a foot to more than 3 feet long.

Inga feuilleei, the short fruit pacay

Inga feuilleei is the pacay of Peru, grown in the Andes for centuries. Its pods are shorter and wider, roughly 8 to 24 inches long, with a thicker layer of pulp around each seed.

Inga vera and other guaba trees

Inga vera, called guaba or guama in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, is a close relative with smaller pods. It is planted as a fast-growing shade tree over coffee, and its pulp is eaten the same way.

Origin of the Ice Cream Bean Tree Name

The ice cream bean tree gets its name from the pulp inside the pod. Each seed sits in a soft, white, cottony coat that melts on the tongue and tastes sweet with a light vanilla note, so the fruit reminds people of vanilla ice cream.

Guaba, pacay and other native names

In its native regions the tree has many names. It is guaba in Ecuador and the Caribbean, pacay in Peru, guamo in Colombia and ingá in Brazil. English speakers in the West Indies called it ice cream bean, and that is the name nurseries in the United States use today.

Ice Cream Bean Edible Fruit and Taste

The edible part of the ice cream bean fruit is the white pulp around the seeds. The pod itself and the seeds are not eaten raw.

Long pods and soft white pulp

A ripe pod splits open by hand along its seam. Inside, 10 to 20 large black or dark purple seeds sit in a row, each wrapped in white fluff that looks like cotton candy. The pulp is about a quarter inch thick on Inga edulis and thicker on pacay.

Sweet vanilla flavor

The soft white pulp is sweet and juicy with a flavor most people compare to vanilla ice cream or cotton candy. Some trees carry a hint of cinnamon. It is eaten fresh out of hand, sucked off the seed and the seed spit out.

Is the ice cream bean fruit safe to eat?

Yes. The fresh pulp is safe and is sold in markets across South America. The seeds are bitter raw and should not be eaten that way, though in some countries they are cooked or roasted.

Harvesting and storing the pods

Pods are ready when they feel full and slightly soft, and some turn a little yellow. They take about three months to ripen after flowering. Picked pods keep for about a week, so eat them soon after harvest.

Ice Cream Bean Tree Growing Zones and Hardiness

The ice cream bean tree is a tropical tree that needs warm weather most of the year. Outdoors it grows best in USDA zones 10 and 11 and the warmest parts of zone 9, which covers South Florida, Hawaii and frost-free spots in the southern United States.

Cold winters and frost

Young trees are damaged by frost at 32°F. An established ice cream bean tree is hardy down to about 30°F for a short night, and older pacay trees have survived brief drops to 25°F with branch dieback. Plant on the warm side of the house, out of cold wind and low spots where frost settles.

Growing ice cream bean in a pot

In zones 3 to 9, grow the ice cream bean tree as a patio plant in a large pot and bring it indoors before nights fall below 40°F, when the leaves start to drop. Indoors it needs a bright south-facing window, and it will stay smaller and fruit less than a tree in the ground.

Ice Cream Bean Tree Growth Rate

The ice cream bean tree has a very fast growth rate. In warm, wet weather a young tree can reach about 15 feet in two years, and trees cut back hard regrow several feet within a single season.

How soon an ice cream bean tree fruits

In good conditions Inga edulis can flower and set pods within two to three years of planting. Pacay grown from seed is slower, often five to seven years. Air-layered trees skip the seedling stage and usually fruit sooner. A well-rooted mature tree flowers two or three times a year and gives generous yields of fruit.

Mature tree size

Left alone, an ice cream bean tree grows 30 to 50 feet tall with a crown about as wide as it is tall. Most home growers keep it at 15 to 20 feet by pruning, which also puts the fruit hanging within reach.

Nitrogen fixing roots

Like other members of the legume family, the ice cream bean tree carries nitrogen fixing bacteria in nodules on its roots. That lets it grow fast on poor, sandy soil and feed the soil around it as its leaves drop and break down.

Ice Cream Bean Tree Planting and Care Instructions

The ice cream bean tree is easy to grow once it establishes. These care instructions cover planting conditions, soil, watering, fertilizer, pruning and pests.

Planting conditions and location

Choose a spot in full sun, or morning sun with light afternoon shade. Give each tree at least 16 feet of space. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and no deeper, set the tree at the same level it grew in the pot, water it in and mulch around the base.

Soil for an ice cream bean tree

The tree tolerates poor soil but needs good drainage. Sandy or loamy soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.8 is ideal. Wet, heavy soil that stays soggy leads to root rot. In a pot, use a fast-draining mix with bark or perlite.

Watering and humidity

Water a newly planted tree two or three times a week for the first few months. An established tree needs about an inch of water a week and more during flowering and fruiting, since drought cuts the crop. It likes humidity, so an indoor tree benefits from a water-filled pebble tray under the pot.

Fertilizer and nitrogen

Because it fixes its own nitrogen, the tree needs little feeding. Skip high nitrogen fertilizer, which pushes leaves at the expense of fruit. A light balanced fertilizer in spring and a layer of compost or mulch is enough.

Pruning

Prune in late winter or early spring to remove dead wood, open up the crown and control height. The tree regrows well after cutting, but avoid cutting the trunk lower than about 2.5 feet.

Pollination

The ice cream bean tree is self-pollinating, so one tree is enough to get pods. Its white flowers carry both male and female parts and draw bees and hummingbirds.

Pests and problems

The tree is generally healthy. Caterpillars sometimes strip leaves, and fruit fly larvae can damage pods that are left too long on the tree. Potted trees indoors may get aphids, mealybugs or spider mites, which neem oil or insecticidal soap controls.

Ice Cream Bean Tree Aesthetic and Landscape Value

Beyond the fruit, the ice cream bean tree is an attractive tropical shade tree with real landscape value.

A fast-growing shade tree

The broad, flat canopy of glossy leaves casts light shade, which is why growers in Latin America plant it over coffee and cacao. In a Florida yard a mature ice cream bean tree shades a patio or the west side of a house within a few years.

White powder-puff flowers

The flowers come in clusters of long white stamens that look like small powder puffs. They open several times a year and bring hummingbirds and bees into the garden.

Pods hanging from the branches

Long green pods hanging under the leaves make the tree a conversation piece. Few fruit trees grow this fast and give fruit this unusual with so little effort.

For step by step planting and troubleshooting, read our post on ice cream bean tree planting and care. You can also browse our fast growing trees and tropical trees.