38 BULLETIN 55, HAWAII EXPEEIMENT STATION 
able reddish cast about the base, becoming browner higher up toward base of 
petioles ; leaves, 8 to 12 feet long, 2 feet broad ; petioles, 3 feet long, green, or 
sometimes with reddish wash extending along midrib of underside of leaf; 
petiole, margins purplish, and curved upward, forming deep gutter. 
Flowers. — Staminate flower, ovary short and clubbed, apple green, with red- 
dish lower end ; perianth, light, streaked with red, becoming lighter toward the 
5 tips, which are long and bright yellow ; petal, iridescent, margins irregular ; 
apicuia, prominent, with one or two folds at base; stamens, longer than 
perianth, with anthers turned outward ; margin dark, where split to expose 
pollen-bearing surfaces ; pistil, style slender, white, with small quantity of 
watery nectar about base ; stigma, small, irregularly lobed. Rachis extending 
from bunch to considerable length, terminating in a rather long bud having dark 
wine colored bracts with bright red inner surface. 
Fndt. — Bunches large, often weighing 100 pounds; 6 to 10 hands; indi- 
vidual fruits, 10 to 16 ounces, 3 to 5 angled, often a little curved, filled at ends, 
but not as blunt as Maiamaoli fruit ; pedicel, 1 to 2 inches long ; skin, thick, 
tough, bright waxy yellow at full maturity ; flesh, firm, yellow ; core, distinct ; 
flavor, subacid to sweet. The fruit is used as a vegetable when cooked. The 
well-ripened fruit has a pleasing flavor, and may be eaten raw. 
MANAIULA, MANAI ULA, OR MALAI ULA 
The Manaiula (No. 4762) is an excellent Maoli banana. The word 
" Manai " has reference to the hard, sharp-ended fiber taken from the 
midrib of the leaf and used for stringing leis (wreaths); "ula," 
meaning " red," relates to the slim red ovaries of the pistillate flowers. 
This color character of the ovaries is found in several varieties from 
other parts of the tropical world, and is one of the main characters 
of the Hawaiian variety. The clumps require renewing about every 
third year to maintain production of large bunches. 
Plants. — Eighteen to twenty feet tall ; crown of foliage, large and vigorous ; 
trunk, 10 to 15 feet long, 10 to 15 inches in diameter at base, tapering upward ; 
color, light green to flesh color with tinges of red ; leaves, 8 to 10 feet long, 20 
to 26 inches at greatest width ; petioles, stout, flesh-colored ; margins, red, 
curved upward and inward forming almost a closed gutter; blade, Ught green 
above, pinkish cast below with midrib on underside of leaf washed with pink ; 
young growth, including suckers, reddish. 
Flowers. — Inflorescence, a compact, drooping panicle, bracts, reddish-brown, 
glaucous outside, deciduous. 
Pistillate flower, 9 centimeters long ; ovary, curved, dull reddish brown : 
perianth, short, recurved, dark red with pinkish stripes ; corolla, one free petal 
margin incurved, dished, delicate red ; stamens, rudimentary ; style, 3.4 centi- 
meters long; stigma, distinctly lobed, cream colored. 
Staminate flower, 6.6 centimeters long ; perianth, streaked with red ; corolla, 
one free petal light red, bladdery ; stamens, 4.6 centimeters long ; anthers, 
prominent; style, pale reddish, undeveloped; stigma small, deciduous with 
bracts from short rachis ; terminal bud plump. 
Fruit — Dark reddish-brown when young, changing to green during the first 
few weeks after the flowering period ; yellow at full maturity ; bunches, about 
8 hands, weighing 50 to 75 pounds ; individual mature fruits, 4 to 5 angled, 6 to 
8 inches long, slightly curved, 2 to 2% inches in diameter ; blunt at apex : 
pedicel, 1 to 2 inches long, stout ; sk'n, thick, tough, waxy yellow when ripe : 
pulp, coarse, firm, seedless, orange colored ; core, distinct. An excellent 
Hawaiian cooking banana. 
KAUALAU 
The Kaualau variety (No. 4758) is of easy culture and excellent 
quality. It is most natural on the island of Hawaii, but may be 
found growing in many other parts of the Territory, adapting itself 
to lower elevations and withstanding strong winds. The term " Kau^ 
alau " means " rain on the leaf." 
