Maiʻa

Maiʻa

Maiʻa

Names

  • ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi: Maiʻa
  • English: Banana
  • Scientific: Musa sp

Species Information

The banana is a large perennial herb with leaf sheaths that form trunk-like pseudostems. Leaves are up to 9 ft long and 2 ft wide.  The flower stalk grows through the center of the pseudostem and develops in clusters.  Fruits mature about two to three months after the flowers appear (Chia, 1981).

Various kapu (rules) surrounded maiʻa because it was understood to be a kinolau (bodily form) of Kanaloa.  For instance, while three specific varieties were available for women to eat (popo’ulu, iholena and kaualau), the rest were kapu (forbidden).  Certain varieties (polapola) can be steamed in an imu and pounded to make a type of poi. Stalks can be used to line imu or as canoe rollers, fibers of leaves can be used in lei-making, and sap can be used as a dye (Abbott, 1992).

Medicinally, some forms of nae (shortness of breath) can be treated with dried leaf ash and sap that are used in conjunction with a number of other plants such as noni, ʻōhiʻa ʻai, and kukui.  These are made into a medicine that is taken with food and tea (Chun, 1994).  Additionally, skin pathogens have been shown to be susceptible to the extract of peel powder which makes it a potential antibacterial agent (Ajijolakewu et al., 2021).

Distribution

While the plant is believed to be native to Southeast Asia, it is now cultivated extensively across both tropical and subtropical climates including West Africa (Ajijolakewu et al., 2021).

Habitat

A common cultivar that persists by vegetative reproduction in mesic to wet valleys and forests from 0–3020 ft (Wagner et al., 1990).

Photos

Maia

 

References & Additional Resources

  • Abbott, Isabella Aiona. Lā’au Hawai’i : Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants. Bishop Museum Press, 1992.
  • Ajijolakewu, K.A., Ayoola, A.S., Agbabiaka, T.O. et al. A review of the ethnomedicinal, antimicrobial, and phytochemical properties of Musa paradisiaca (plantain). Bull Natl Res Cent 45, 86 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-021-00549-3
  • Chia, C. L. Bananas. Commodity Fact Sheet BA-3(A) Fruit. Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service, CTAHR, University of Hawaii, 1981.
  • Chun, Malcolm Naea. Native Hawaiian Medicines; First People’s Productions,1994.
  • Wagner, Warren L., Derral R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai’i. University of Hawaii Press, 1990.