42 BULLETIN 55, HAWAII EXPERIMENT STATION 
Flowers. — Staminate flower, 7.5 centimeters long, whitish washed with pale 
red ; perianth, red near base ; lobes, pale yellow ; petal, cupped and with irregu- 
lar margins, erect or curving outward ; stamens, 5, longer than perianth, slightly 
curved ; style, slim ; stigma, small and whitish. 
Fruit. — Bunches of medium size, weighing 40 to 50 pounds ; individual fruits, 
curved, angular, and often retaining dead style of pistil at apex. The fruit can 
not be distinguished from the Manaiula variety when sold on the retail market. 
Skin, thick, tough ; pulp, firm ; core, distinct. The fruit is used mainly cooked. 
The Iho-u is seldom found in cultivation. It grows wild in the 
Kona woods, and is said by Francis Gay to be commonly found in 
the mountain forests of Kauai, where it is generally known as a 
Maoli banana. The plants are slender and produce small bunches of 
fruit in comparison with other varieties. Hawaii ans call the variety 
" Iho-u," meaning " snubbed nose," on account of the peculiar form 
of the individual fruits. 
Plants. — Erect, small or of medium height ; trunk tapers from base to crown, 
about 8 feet tall ; sheaths, green, splotched with dark brown patches at the 
base of petioles, very much like the Brazilian variety ; leaves, stand well erect, 
6 to 8 feet long, of which the petiole is about 2 feet long ; blade, oblong-oval, 
green with lighter green midrib, both sides of base attached evenly to petiole. 
Flowers. — Staminate flower, 7 centimeters long, whitish with slight streaks 
of pink on ovary and perianth ; rudimentary ovary, short, clubbed ; perianth, 
4.6 centimeters long, slim ; apex lobes, tipped with light yellow ; petal, white to 
irridescent, stiff, cupped without depressions on outer surface, margins turned 
inward ; apicula, small, turned inward ; stamens, longer than perianth ; anthers, 
slim, whitish ; pistil, as long as perianth ; style, slender ; stigma, small and 
irregularly lobed. 
Fruit. — Stem, slender, gracefully curved ; bunch, small, 5 to 7 hands, about 90 
fruits to bunch ; extending rachis, slim, shedding terminal bud before fruit is 
more than half size ; individual fruits are more curved than most of the 
Maoli bananas, filled to both sides, 3 to 5 angled ; skin, yellow, t^ugh ; pulp, 
yellow, firm ; flavor, subacid ; core, indistinct. A cooking banana of good flavor. 
The tips of part of the fruit often tend to retain the dead styles of the flower. 
IHOLENA GROUP 
Varieties of the Iholena group are identified by their erect trunks, 
long arched fruiting stems, and small, or medium-sized, bunches, 
rarely weighing over 50 pounds. Individual fruits stand out at 
nearly right angles to the stem, and usually are angular, tapering to- 
ward the apex ; the skin is thick and yellow at maturity, the flesh is 
of light pinkish salmon color, and the rachis is rather long. The 
flowers are white or cream colored. 
IHOLENA 
The Iholena or Hilahila (No. 4499) is a favorite banana of the 
Hawaiians. It is well adapted to wind}^ locations on account of its 
short trunk, and responds to good culture. The name " Iholena " is 
said to have originated from two words, " Iho," meaning " core," 
which is colored, and "Lena," referring to the ripe fruit. 
Plants. — Comparatively low-growing, like that of the Cavendish, greatest 
height being 8 to 10 feet ; trunks, upright or slightly reclining, of uniform diam- 
eter throughout, green with occasional streaks of purple or pink, 5*4 feet 
tall, crowned with 10 to 12 leaves averaging 6 feet long; petiole, stout, about 
18 inches long, tapering into midrib ; margins, pinkish to brown line at edge, 
