Maoli-Popoulu subgroup
Maoli-Popoulu subgroup
Ploidy level
3x
Genome group
Subgroup
Cultivars
Distribution
Pacific
The Maoli-Popoulu subgroup is named after the Maoli and Popoulu bananas domesticated in the Pacific region, possibly in the Bismarck Archipelago-Solomon Islands area[1].
Along with Iholena bananas, they are sometimes referred to as Pacific plantains, a practice that perpetuates the confusion surrounding the word plantain. Plantain is the name of a subgroup, not a generic word for cooking bananas, even if they belong to the AAB genome group.
Morphological characteristics
The cultivars in this subgroup are best recognized by their sausage-shape fruits. The fruits of the Popoulu bananas tend to fatter and shorter than those of the Maoli ones.
Types and cultivars
References
1. De Langhe, E., Perrier, X., Donohue, M. and Denham, T.P. 2015. The Original Banana Split: Multi-disciplinary implications of the generation of African and Pacific Plantains in Island Southeast Asia. Ethnobotany Research and Applications 14:299-312.