Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_musa_spp
Banana
Musa spp.
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About Banana
Maiʻa covers a banana and plantain crop complex, including Polynesian introductions maintained in Hawaiian cultural landscapes by vegetative propagation. These large herbs form tree-like pseudostems rather than woody trunks. Mats expand through suckers, and cultivated clones depend on people for cultivar continuity and disease management. This group card does not establish the identity or arrival history of every Musa species or cultivar on Kauaʻi.
Kauaʻi evidence
This entry represents a broader taxonomic group and needs species-level identification for detailed ecological conclusions.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Musa spp.
- Common names
- Banana
- Hawaiian names
- Maiʻa
- Other names
- Musa spp. · Banana · plantain · Maiʻa
- Family
- Musaceae
- Order
- Zingiberales
- Record type
- Species or taxonomic group
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Documented on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Polynesian introduction
- Conservation status
- Conservation priority; formal rank not listed
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- No major occurrence uncertainty noted
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Gardens · Agroforest · Moist lowlands
- Food and resource needs
- Light, water, nutrients, and suitable soil or substrate
- Reproduction
- Viable propagules and suitable establishment conditions
- Shelter
- Suitable soil, substrate, and vegetation structure
- Growth form
- Tree-like arborescent herb
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Disease, cultivar loss, storm damage
- Conservation actions
- Cultivar documentation and agroforest management
- Monitoring
- Cultivar documentation and agroforest management
- Data gaps
- Species-level identification is needed · Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not assessed
- Seasonal description
- Maiʻa covers a banana and plantain crop complex, including Polynesian introductions maintained in Hawaiian cultural landscapes by vegetative propagation. These large herbs form tree-like pseudostems rather than woody trunks. Mats expand through suckers, and cultivated clones depend on people for cultivar continuity and disease management. This group card does not establish the identity or arrival history of every Musa species or cultivar on Kauaʻi.
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