DESCRIPTOR LIST: HAWAIIAN NATIVE BANANAS (Kepler/Rust)
VARIETY
LOCATION ISLAND DATE
ELEVATION GPS NUMBER ROAD DIRECTIONS
General & Environmental Factors
Plant condition
[healthy scraggly
dying]
Habitat Type
Water Availability [ ridge
flat ditch stream ]
Soil Description [ rocky clayey
poor fertile can’t see ]
Exposure [ sunny
semi-sun shady deeply shady ]
Competition
(species, heights, damaging to banana health?)
Pseudostem
Height (to peduncle base) Diameter (basal)
Aspect [ slender normal robust dwarfed semi-dwarfed not dwarfed ]
Colors green dark green shiny grass-green green + delicate pink green
+ much pink wholly pink/maroon
Underlying Colors
Blotches at petiole base [ >75%
50% 25% 0%
virtually none ]
Blotch Color [ blackish shiny black dull
"scorched" black dark brown
light brown chestnut ]
Dried Sheath Coverage [ none/few >50% 100% ]
Keiki (suckers)
Basic Color Wax [ heavy
medium light ]
Sucker type [sword
# water # Peepers
#]
Leaves
General Shape
[narrow-oblong & tapered
apex narrow-oblong & blunt
apex paddle-shaped (broad in middle, short, tapered apex]
Cigar leaf color [green yellow-green bronze/coppery purplish dark red-purple ]
Leaf blade base [cordate tapered rounded symmetrical
asymmetrical ]
Lower surface:
Color: Shade of green [light medium dark
variegated] purple
Waxiness [light
medium heavy]
Upper surface:
Color: Shade of green [light medium dark
variegated
Corrugations [ none few
prominent ]
Midribs
Color, mature plant, top [pale
green green yellow-green pink flesh red/black/burgundy w/green]
“
“ , bottom [ pale green green yellow-green
pink flesh red/black/burgundy
w/green ]
Color, immature plant, top [pale
green green yellow-green pink flesh red/black/burgundy w/green]
“
“ , bottom [ pale green green
yellow-green pink flesh red/black/burgundy
w/green ]
Petioles
Length [
short
normal noticeably long
]
Color(s), mature plant [pale green green
pink on bottom pink on side burgundy/blackish/bluish
(waxy)]
“ immature plant [pale
green green pink on
bottom pink on side burgundy/blackish/bluish (waxy)]
Degree of wax [ light
medium heavy ]
Canal Type [ widely open open vertical almost closed closed ]
Margins [
winged & wavy winged& straight unwinged ]
Margin
Color [ green brown pink-purple ]
Rim
Color [ green brown pink-purple very bright
pink-purple ]
Margin
Width [<1/8”
1/8” ¼” ½” >1/2”]
Male
Bud (fresh, early to half-ripe fruit stage)
Fruit Stage [ very immature young green-ripe ripe
over-the-hill ]
Shape [
top lanceolate
intermediate ovoid rounded cordate ]
Bract Overlap [ none little very obvious ]
Colors:
Inside [ dull
yellow shiny red-brown matte red-brown pinkish-red purple-brown
green yellow/red streaks]
Outside [ purple-brown
+ heavy wax purple-brown
+ medium wax green yellow & red streaks ]
Apex [ with yellow tip without yellow tip ]
Inside Base [ with yellow without yellow ]
Apex Shape [ pointed not especially pointed rounded ]
Bract behavior before falling [
rolling not rolling ]
Bud depletion [ none at full fruit ripeness begins ca. 1/3 ripe begins ca. 2/3 ripe
begins @maturity ]
Staminate Flower (fresh) [ fallen freshly-picked bud ]
When falling? [ before bracts fall after bracts fall ]
Overall Color [ all white/cream
pale pink-purple medium
pink-purple rich pink-purple ]
Color Distribution
[throughout perianth perianth
sides adjacent to free tepal band
above ovary ]
Perianth Back [ white/cream yellow pink /red purple 2 definite stripes brownish blotches red dots below lobes any thickening?
]
Perianth Inside [ same as outside color darker than outside color with 2 pink-purple stripes ]
Free Tepal Color [ white/cream
pale pink-purple medium
pink-purple rich pink-purple ]
Free tepal miscellaneous: [
creases hollow
“cheeks” thickened midline ]
Apicula [ obtuse/virtually
absent short & triangular long & triangular long &
thread-like ]
Nectar [
watery gel none bees present ants present ]
Stamens/Anthers (fresh)
Color [ white/cream yellow lavender pink ]
Exsertion
(w. r. t. curled perianth lobe bases)
[ less than equal greater
than ]
Pollen [ none little lots ]
Pistil
Style Color
[ white cream yellow pink/pink-purple different colors in lower ½? ]
Stigma Color [ cream yellow buff
]
Ovary
Color [white/cream
yellow pale green apple-green pale pink-purple med.pink-purple dark pink-purple]
Pigmentation [ wholly color-suffused red/pink/purple
streaks "red" base brownish splotches none ]
Peduncle
Length [ <1′
1-2′ 2-3' 3-4' ]
Hairiness [
smooth few hairs downy
very hairy >2mm ]
Color [pale
green
green green with
blackish green with dark red
streaks dark red black ]
Unusual
traits [ forked outside
bunch forked within bunch double triple
multiple ]
Rachis
Position [vertical angled
kinked horizontal erect]
Coverings [bare
neutral flowers male flowers above bract]
Pistillate Flower
Perianth Back [ white/cream
yellow pink /red purple 2 definite stripes
brownish blotches ]
Perianth Inside (curled back) [ same as
outside color darker than outside
color with 2 pink-purple stripes ]
Free Tepal Color [ white/cream/translucent pale pink-purple medium
pink-purple rich
pink-purple ]
Stigma Color [
white/cream buff orange-buff brown ]
Ovary Color/Emerging fruits [
yellow-green light yellow-green green dark green silvery/bluish green & pink/red/purple maroon-chocolate reddish-brown ]
Ovule Arrangement [
two-rowed ca.
four-rowed other ]
Fruit Bunch (50+% development)
Bunch Position [ hanging vertically
angled erect ]
Arrangement of Fruit [parallel
to rachis right angles to
rachis 45 deg. to rachis twisted ]
Synchronous ripening? [ yes no ]
Compactness [tight open to fingers open to fist (below top hand) ]
No hands &
No. fruits per hand [ Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand
3 Hand 4 Hand 5
Hand
6 Hand 7 Hand 8 Hand 9 Hand 10 Hand
11 ]
Total No. Fruits
Individual Mature Fruits
Size [
finger-length
small
medium
large
huge ]
Fruit Stage [ very immature young green ripe ripe over-ripe ]
Length, typical
[ straight
curved ] Diameter Weight
Shape [
straight straight distally slightly curved sharply curved exceptionally
narrow angled prominently angled sausage shaped ball-shaped inflated fused at sides S-shaped ]
Apex [ pointed lengthily pointed blunt-tipped bottle-necked long bottle-necked
rounded lumpily rounded (near-bursting) ]
Transverse section of fruit [ pronounced ridges slightly ridged completely round & smooth ]
Floral Relicts retained [ perianth pistil none floral scar prominent
]
Pedicel Length
[ short
medium long longer on top hand? ]
Fruit Color, Immature [ light yellow-green yellow-green
green dark green silvery/bluish maroon-&-green
green & pink/red-purple maroon-chocolate reddish-brown
green-&-white striped
]
Fruit Color, Mature [ yellow-green yellow bright yellow golden-coppery reddish-yellow ]
Peel Thickness [ <2 mm >3 mm ]
Cracking of ripening fruit [ yes no ]
Fruit falls from hands when ripe [ yes no ]
Flesh Color
[ golden yellow cream ivory/white luminescent yellow-green
salmon-pink(pink-orange) pale salmon-pink light orange darker orange inside?]
Texture (fully ripe) [ heavy mealy creamy dry soft fluffy firm ]
Taste
(fully ripe) [
astringent mild/bland semi-sweet
sweet sugary sweet-acidic rich
]
Culinary Type [ cooking
dessert cooking & dessert ]
Texture after cooking/cooling (ripe) [ mushy
semi-mushy firm gelatinous elastique starchy
very starchy ]
Seeds [ none flat angular rounded black
brown] Size
Seed
Distribution [
scattered linear &
central tightly packed ]
Signs
of Pests or Diseases [bunchy top Panama disease
corm weevils black Sigatoka thrips fungi ]
D71 Banana Descriptors Field Form April 2.doc