BAXAXA CULTURE IN HAWAII 37 
skin, which, on ripening, turns to a rich, waxy yellow color. The 
pedicel is long and the flesh is yellow. The floral parts are slightly 
tinged with pink. 
MA1AMAOI.I 
The fruit of the Maiamaoli variety (No. 47^1) is the most common 
and best cooking banana found on the local market. The plants are 
of easier culture than most other varieties of the Maoli group, and 
thrive best in the porous rocky a-a 10 soils where the roots become 
deeply anchored. In heavy soils the plants are more easily blown 
down. The Hawaiian name " Maiamaoli " is a combination of two 
words. "Maia," meaning banana, and "maole," derived from 
" maori," a south Pacific Polynesian word probably referring to the 
origin of the fruit. 
Plants. — Tall and erect; trunk, 10 to 14 feet tall, diameter at base about 10 
inches : green, with faint tints of pink ; brownish patches on sheaths near bases 
of leaf stalks. ; leaves, about 9 feet long ; blades, nearly 7 feet long, greatest 
width 2 feet ; petiole margins curved well upward almost together, forming a 
deep trough, edges tinged with narrow lines of pink extending into brown 
marginal lines of the blade, the base of which is lobed, one side attached on 
petiole somewhat higher than the other (pi. 13, A). 
Flowers. — Staminate flower, 6 centimeters long; ovary, light .-,reen with 
reddish wash; perianth, whitish with overwash of pink, fading toward the 
extreme end; lobes, pale yellow, the middle and two outside rather long, 
the two secondary slim : the free petal, whitish, irridescent, slightly dimpled 
in front ; apicula, erect with several folds at base : stamens, 5, sometimes 6, 
whitish anthers with light brownish margins; pistil, style, whitish, slender; 
stigma, small, but rather prominently lobed ; light buff in color. No pollen 
evident. 
Fruit. — Borne on strong stems of rather short curve; bunches weigh 60 to 
90 pounds, and are well packed : 7 to 9 hands, with 10 to 12 bananas to larger 
hands : individual fruits often weigh 10 to 14 ounces, long, round, and well- 
filled at both ends : pedicel, 1 to 2 inches long, the angle-ridges becoming 
insignificant at full maturity ; skin, thick, tough, and bright, waxy yellow at 
full ripeness ; pulp, yellow, firm : core, distinct ; flavor, good. The fruit is 
excellent when served as a cooked vegetable, and may be eaten raw. 
HAI 
The Hai variety ^Xo. 4760) forms the largest plants of any of the 
native bananas, and usually produces the largest bunches with very 
large individual fruits (pi. 6, B). It is not so hardy as are some 
other varieties, blows down easily, and when neglected often fails 
to produce vigorous suckers, resulting in the death of the clumps. 
The term ** Hai " is said to be a contraction of " Mohai." meaning 
sacrifice. 
IIAIKEA 
Belonging to the Hai variety, or closely related to it as a strain 
or subvariety, is the Haikea, which possesses many of the varietal 
characters of the latter, but is not so tall and all its parts have a 
whitish bloom. The flower and mature fruit have no identifying 
varietal characters. The suffix " kea " has reference to the whitish 
cast of the green parts of the plant. 
Piants. — The Hai banana plant at maturity often reaches 15 to 24 feet high ; 
diameter of base of trunk. 12 t<» 17 inches; trunk sheaths, green with consider- 
*> Clinker form of laval flow. 
