BANANA CULTURE IN HAWAII 6 
generic name Musa to the banana group in honor of Antonius Musa, 
a learned physician of the early Roman Empire. 
Notwithstanding the fact that the banana was an important agri- 
cultural crop even before the time of written records, its specific and 
varietal relations have never been well defined. About 1750 an 
attempt was made to establish several of the leading species. The 
name sapientum (affording wisdom) was given to the banana and 
that of paradisiaca (pertaining to Paradise) to the plantain to 
differentiate the species of the genus Musa. Later, the name caven- 
dishii was given to another species of the banana. Other species 
have since been added and hundreds of so-called varieties brought 
into cultivation, but few have been completely described. Quisum- 
bing (7-5, p. 10) states that 77 species have been described. In the 
work of Baker (£, p. 205) three subdivisions of the genus Musa were 
made: Eumusa, Rhodochlamys. and Physocaulis. The subdivisions 
are based on well differentiated characters, mainly pertaining to the 
floral parts, and are described in detail by Fawcett (11, p. 263), and 
in the Kew Bulletin for 1894 (1). 
What determines the difference between bananas and plantains is 
a problem under the present method of classification. Some botanists 
are of the opinion that the species sapientum and paradisiaca are 
the same, with very marked variations, whereas others believe that 
the former is a subspecies of the latter. Schumann (18, p. 19) 
places sapientum as a subspecies of paradisiaca. The proper use 
of the terms " plantain " and " banana," or the specific names sapi- 
entum and paradisiaca is uncertain, because of the lack of uniform 
nomenclature for the different forms. A variety has a different 
name in almost every country where it is grown, the standard com- 
mercial varieties of American trade proving no exception. The 
most widely grown commercial variety, for example, is known in 
different places as Martinique, Jamaica, Gros Michel, and Bluefields. 
The leading commercial banana of Hawaii is also known by such 
names as Cavendish, Dwarf, Governor, and Chinese. The native 
varieties also often have different names in different parts of the 
same island. In most banana-growing countries a variety may be 
known by different names in the same locality. Some varieties make 
a much greater vegetative growth in one localit}^ than in another, 
and may derive their names from the nature of their growth. 
In Hawaii several other genera of plants which are closely related 
to the genus Musa include the Canna, Ravenala, Streiitzia, and 
Heliconia. 
CHARACTERS 
A thorough knowledge of the characters of the banana plant is 
essential to those seriously attempting its culture. The seedless 
varieties, by reason of their easy culture, high food value, and 
immense yields, have become well established, whereas the function 
of the flower and the possibility of creating new varieties through 
seed production have not received the attention they deserve. 
HABITS OF GROWTH 
The banana plant, as commonly understood, is a tropical herba- 
ceous perennial which assumes treelike proportions, some of the larger 
species often reaching 30 or more feet high. The parts of the plant, 
