Banana Varieties in Hawaii — SiMMONDS 
227 
of the varieties that the writer was able to 
examine in Hawaii. These remarks take the 
form of footnotes to Pope's (1926) list, with 
.emphasis on observations that, in the light 
of recent researches, seem to be botanically 
important. 
HAWAIIAN VARIETIES 
Popoulu. An acuminata-halbisiana hybrid 
(hereinafter abbreviated to AB) type, prob- 
ably triploid. Plant flushed with red and 
bracts curled characters); flowers 
pale pink, ovules four-rowed {balbisiana 
characters). Fruits short and very fat, su- 
perficially disguising the true relationship 
of the variety. 
Maiamaoli. Botanically much like Popoulu, 
but plant pale in colour and fruits longer 
and more slender although blunt at the 
tip. Aeae (Koae) is a striped mutant; at 
least five shades from near white to dark 
green could be detected, and a probable 
case of striped to normal mutation was 
seen. It is probably chimerical. Kaualau 
is perhaps a mutant with slightly persistent 
bracts, Eleele one with purple-brown stain- 
ing on sheaths and midribs. Only exten- 
sive collection and experimental compari- 
son could resolve the confusion of varieties, 
mutants, and names in this complex. 
Iholena. Probably an acuminata edible type. 
The fruit has a very characteristic thick 
skin and pinkish flesh. Little material was 
seen, and no probable bud sports were 
recorded. 
Maiaoa ("Wild banana”). A strain of the 
variable Musa acuminata^ diploid, fully 
seeded, and quite inedible. Apparently re- 
lated to the Malayan form of the species. 
The history of and reason for introduction 
of the plant to Hawaii is unknown. It has 
long been in cultivation in the I.C.T.A. 
banana collections. The plant was only 
seen once (near Kona), and, since local 
knowledge of its existence had apparently 
been lost, the rediscovery was of some 
interest. 
ALIEN VARIETIES 
Borabora. The fed banana. MacDaniels 
( 1947 ) discussed the hypothesis that the 
fed banana was present in Hawaii in ab- 
original times but concluded (as did Pope, 
1926) that it was not brought to Hawaii 
before the early nineteenth century and was 
not one of the plants cultivated by the 
early Hawaiians. 
The writer saw little material and no use- 
ful observations on variability could be 
made. The chromosome number was con- 
firmed as 2n = 20 on two plants taken near 
Honolulu (counts by K. Shepherd). It is 
never known to be seed-fertile in Hawaii 
(St. John, personal communication), al- 
though it does occasionally set seed else- 
where in the Pacific (MacDaniels, 1947) 
and is always at least slightly pollen-fertile 
(MacDaniels, personal communication). 
Presumably, the species is always diploid 
(though sometimes perhaps chromosom- 
ally abnormal, as is M. acuminata), and the 
variable incidence of total seed sterility is 
to be related to a variable incidence of 
sterility modifiers of parthenocarpy. 
Cavendish, or Chinese. A triploid form of 
M. acuminata and one of the most im- 
portant and widely cultivated banana varie- 
ties in the world. It is one of a complex 
series of bud sports referred to collectively 
as the Cavendish group and treated ex- 
haustively elsewhere (Simmonds, 1953). It 
is an important export variety in some areas 
and used to be of some significance in 
Hawaii as such. It is highly susceptible to 
leaf spot (Sigatoka) disease, which is, how- 
ever, fortunately absent from the Territory. 
Hamakua. A variety introduced from Hawaii 
to the I.C.T.A. in 1939 under this name 
proved to be identical with the Lacatan 
of Jamaica, etc. This is another member 
of the Cavendish group, related by muta- 
tion to the preceding although utterly 
different in general aspect. Numerous plants 
were seen on the Kona coast of Hawaii, 
