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Cavendish is King in Hawaii... since 1855.



1904 - Report

The Hawaiian banana trade had its beginning between forty
and fifty years ago. As early as the year 1862, according to
Thrum's Hawaiian Annual, there were 121 -bunches of bananas
exported from these islands. Probably these were the first of
the Chinese variety to be shipped from here, since Hillebrand
records that this species of Musa was first brought to us from
Tahiti about the year 1855. In the year 1863 only sixty
bunches were exported, but from this time onward the trade increased
slowly until it reached its maximum in the year 1896.
In this year the export amounted to 120,659 bunches.

The Hawaiian product suffered in the market not because of
inferiority, for the Chinese variety is considered superior in flavor
to the Jamaican. The latter, however, can be handled more
cheaply because of its hardiness.

Commercial varieties . From a commercial standpoint there
are' but few varieties here or' anywhere. The most important
are the Jamaica known' also as Martinique, Bluefields, etc., the
Chinese or Cavendish and the Red Spanish or Jamaica Red.

The Jamaica. Introduced by Mr. Philip Peck of
Hilo early in 1903, and again by the Board of Agriculture and
Forestry at the close of the same year. It has received many
names from the places where it has been grown. It is the chief
banana of the American trade; excellent for shipping; fine in
appearance, flavor fair, fruits well placed on bunch for convenient
handling. The plants are large. This is the banana for the millions.

The Chinese banana (Musa cavendishii.)
Introduced from Tahiti about 1855. The plant is of very low
growth, the fruit of good flavor, the bunch of large size. It is
excellent for shipping but will not stand as rough handling as
the Jamaica.

Red Spanish. (M. sapientumJ var. rubra.) Probably Ram
Kela of India. The plant is 24 to 28 feet high. Trunk, petiole
and midrib of leaf are red. The bunch is large, with fruits large
and changing through various shades of red while maturing. It
is very attractive when ripe and is sold as fancy fruit chiefly
upon appearance though of good flavor.

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1926 - Report

CAVENDISH OR CHINESE

The Cavendish or Chinese banana (No. 4498) is the leading commercial
variety of the Hawaiian Islands, its wonderful adaptability
to local conditions making it rank supreme among the many banana
varieties so far cultivated. The brief history of its origin
is interesting:
The dwarf banana was found growing in southern China by early
travelers to the Orient, and in 1826 was brought to Mauritius, Indian
Ocean, by Charles Telfair, who seems to have been the first European
to obtain plants of the species. The dwarf plants grew vigorously,
fruited profusely, and seemed to be practically immune from
attack by insect pests and disease, convincing the grower of the
superiority of the species over all other banana species in his extensive
collection. Two plants, sent to a Mr. Barclay, of Burryhill,
England, in 1829, were grown in a hothouse and propagated by
means of offshoots. After the death of Mr. Barclay, one of the
plants was sold to the Duke of Devonshire and grown at Chatsworth
in 1836 by the gardener, a Mr. Paxton. The gardener published
a description of the plant in the Magazine of Botany for 1837.
A. B. Lambert, a European botanist whose extensive herbarium
was open to every man of science, made a study of the dwarf
banana in 1836 and exhibited some of the plants at a meeting of the
Linnean Society in London, together with an old Chinese drawing
which he believed identified the origin of the species Mr. Lambert
gave the dwarf banana the specific name of cavendishii, probably
in honor of Henry Cavendish (1731-1810), a noted English scientist.
and relative of the Duke of Devonshire. The Chatsworth gardens
were the original source of all the Cavendish bananas for commercial
cultivation.
John Williams, a missionary of the South Sea Islands, who heard
of the dwarf species at Chatsworth upon his return to England in
1834, carried some of the plants in 1838 to Tonga, Samoa, and the
Society Islands, where they were propagated and flourished. Ten
years later the species was introduced into the Friendly Islands and
Fiji, where it effectively put a stop to occasional famines.
According to Hillebrand, the Cavendish or Chinese
banana (Musa cavendishii) was introduced into the Hawaiian
Islands from Tahiti about the year 1855. In a very short time it
superseded all other varieties on account of its superior fruiting
qualities and its low form of growth, which affords it protection from
high winds. Within the last hundred year- the species has been
introduced into Egypt, Brazil, French Guiana, Barbados, Trinidad,
North Australia, and the Canary Islands, where it is being cultivated
with success as a commercial banana.

BLUEFIELDS OR GROS MICHEL

About the year 1840 an improved type of banana was observed in
Martinique, West Indies, and introduced by Jean Francisco Pouyat
into Jamaica, where the variety was called the " Pouyat " or the
"Martinique". It was the leading banana of Jamaica
for many years, and became known as the Jamaica or Gros Michel
after the banana industry in Costa Rica began to develop. The
variety is now well established in Fiji, New Guinea, and Queensland,
where it is known as the Gros Michel. It was introduced
into Hawaii early in 1903 by Philip Peck, of Hilo, and by the
Territorial Board of Agriculture and Forestry near the close of the
same year. The following year the station introduced
130 "heads," or bases of large suckers, from the port
of Bluefields, Nicaragua. These reached Honolulu December 26,
1904, via New Orleans and San Francisco. After this introduction
the banana was generally known as the Bluefields (No. 4544).
Botanically, it is a variety of Musa sapientum.

BRAZILIAN

How the Brazilian variety (No. 4494) came to be so named is not
known. Hillebrand states that the variety was introduced
into Hawaii from Java about 1855, via Tahiti. Society Islands.
Higgins believes the variety to be either Pisang radjah
or Pisang medja, "the desert banana" of Java. It is grown on all
the larger islands of the Hawaiian group and is commonly found on
the local markets. The area devoted to the variety has been greatly
extended on windward Oahu during the past three years (1923-
1925). The Brazilian is designated by the Chinese as "Park-yuk,"
meaning "white flesh," and sometimes it is erroneously called the
Apple banana. The variety withstands considerable wind and is
often used as a windbreak for other varieties. Results of experiments
show that the fruit can be satisfactorily shipped to the markets
of the Pacific coast.

RED

The Red banana (No. 4492) is not uncommon throughout the
Hawaiian Islands. Higgins states that it was introduced
with the Largo variety from Mexico. It was also introduced into
Hawaii by the station from the Porto Rico Experiment Station in
December, 1904, under the name " Colorado." The names " Red
Spanish " and " Red Cuban " are applied to the variety in other
parts of the West Indies and sometimes in Hawaii. " Red " is the
term generally used commercially, and is, perhaps, the most applicable.
The variety is said to be of Indian origin, and is botanically
known as Musa sapientum var. rubra. It is distinct in its
vegetative characters, is large, and not so exacting in its requirements
as are most other varieties. It is reported from tropical America as
being more resistant to disease than are other commercial varieties.

GREEN RED

The Red variety frequently gives rise to bud mutation producing
fruit which is more green than red in color until maturity when the
green portion turns yellow, hence the name " Green Red." In variation,
the Green Red variety is different from the Colorado Blanco
variety. Trunks and fruit stems are striped in some instances and
are green on one side and red on the other in others, and many of
the bananas are green on one side and red on the other. Such bananas
from tropical America are said to be sold under different trade
names.

LADY FINGER

The Lady Finger variety (No. 4493) was introduced into
Hawaii by the station from the Porto Rico Experiment Station in
1904 under the name of " Datyl " (No. 48). It is now grown at the
Tantalus substation (No. 2958), where it withstood a prolonged
drought in 1923-24 much better than any other variety under trial,
producing large bunches of fruit. There were probably other introductions
of the variety into the Hawaiian Islands. Evidently there
are several strains of the Lady Finger since descriptions from different
countries vary considerably. The Lady Finger is well known in
most parts of tropical America, where it is grown in some places for
export trade. It is a poor shipper, however. Fawcett states that in
Guiana where the Panama disease caused losses ranging from 25 to 75
per cent of the Jamaica (Bluefields) variety, the Lady Finger variety
was not attacked. The variety is known in tropical America under
such names as Datyl, Fig, Date, Dedo de Dama, and Guineo Blanco.

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robguz24

Imported cavendish is the real king here, unfortunately.

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My micro-farm

Stay on my Big Island banana farm cottage

PR-Giants

It's seems that the commercial banana plantations in Hawaii just kept growing the superior Cavendish cultivars and skipped the whole Gros Michel fad.

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1904 -

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1926 -

ESLESNO

Among the bananas introduced into Hawaii by the station from
Porto Rico in 1904 was an unlabeled variety which has since been
identified by J. Caban, of Honolulu, formerly of the West Indies, as
the " Eslesno " (No. 4495). The variety was probably named after
a territory of some Spanish possession, and is more commonly known
in Hawaii as the " Porto Rican." It is regarded as excellent when
eaten raw. and on account of its small bunches is probably suited for
local-market culture only.

APPLE

The Apple banana (No. 4505) was introduced into Hawaii about
1868 from China, where it is known as " Go-Sai-heong,"
meaning " the fragrance that goes over the mountain." It was
also introduced in 1904 from Porto Rico by the station under the
Spanish name " Manzano." The fruits of both have been identified
by West Indians in Hawaii as belonging to the same variety. Plants
and fruit vary greatly in size, owing, apparently, to cultural conditions.
The variety when properly grown and handled produces
excellent fruit.

CHAMALUCO

The Chamaluco (No. 4490) was introduced into Hawaii from the
Porto Rco Experiment Station on February 5, 1904, under accession
(No. 16). The name " Chamaluco " is of West Indian origin. The
variety was reported to be resistant to disease and to produce fruit
of poor quality, facts which have been borne out during its 21 years
in Hawaii.

COMMON PLANTAIN

The common plantain (No. 5118), sometimes known as "Green
Stem", "Monkey Plantain", and "Horse Plantain," was introduced
into Hawaii from tropical America. Plants received from the Porto
Rico Experiment Station in October, 1904, were listed under accession
(No. 24). The variety is sometimes erroneously called the " Porto
Rcan banana." Botanically, it is a true plantain (Musa paradisiaca).
It grows well in loose rocky soil where there is abundant
rainfall and is given culture very similar to that given the
Maoli banana. In some localities the common plantain is highly
prized as a food when cooked.

DWARF PLANTAIN

The dwarf plantain (No. 4491) was introduced into Hawaii from
the Porto Rico Experiment Station on October 31, 1904, under
accession (No. 44). In parts of tropical America it is known as
"Macho Enano," and " Plantano Enano." Botanically, it is classified
as Musa paradisiaca. The dwarf plantain does not seem to be
well adapted to Hawaiian conditions. It requires a large amount
of moisture, humidity, and good drainage and protection from wind.
It resembles the common plantain, but is much smaller.

ICE CREAM

The station obtained its first plant of the Ice Cream banana (No.
4480) on January 28, 1908, from a local grower who was unable to
give its origin. A study of the variety from other countries indicates
that it is the Cenizo of Central America and the West Indies
where it is classified by some authorities as an apple plantain. In
the Philippines the variety is described as a true banana of the
variety Krie (C. A. No. 5396). Its source and by whom
it was introduced into Hawaii have not been determined by the
writer.

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tanfenton

PR,

You always post such interesting excerpts. Is there any way that you can provide the publication information of these materials so that others can try to track down the complete document?

N.

PR-Giants

Click the link and look for Hawaii Bulletin 7 & 55

Links To Help Identify Your Banana

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Narnia

Is the Go-Sai-heong,"Related to the Brazillian /Lady Finger?