Funky cores of Praying Hands
 

I had this bunch of Praying Hands bananas that stayed on the plant for at least 9 months before I harvested them. They never turned yellow, but filled out reasonably well. After they began turning yellow, I ate a couple and they were still pretty starchy, so I gave them a few more days to ripen. Now, most of the bananas have black stuff and some of them even have cells that look like eggs or something. Anyone have any insight? Are they just overripe now or is it some kind of mold? Just wondering if I should worry about eating them at this point.

https://postimg.org/image/ly1bz3l5z/

Re: Funky cores of Praying Hands
 

Myself and others on this site occasionally see that on bunches that form in late fall in zone 9b or 10a, then do not begin to ripen until the following summer. Apparently the core goes through some pithy development and ... well Gabe15 can give you the biological details.

I personally had it occur once on dwarf Orinoco and once on dwarf Brazilian.

Re: Funky cores of Praying Hands
 

This will happen from time to time, sometimes even in the tropics without cold temps. The best way I've interpreted it as is a case of incomplete parthencarpy, the pulp grows from the skin side towards the center and that's what it looks like if it stops prematurely for whatever reason. 'Praying Hands' and it's close brother 'Saba' can take a very long time to mature a bunch, it would make sense as Richard suggested that at some point in the long growth period when it was subjected to cooler temperatures it interrupted the pulp growth process. Not a disease, but rather a physiological disorder of sorts, it's like a half blown up balloon and totally safe to eat.

Re: Funky cores of Praying Hands
 

Happens to my Hua Moas quite often, I've always figured it was characteristic of the variety.