East African Highland bananas
Encyclopedia
East African Highland bananas are triploid banana
cultivar
s originating from East Africa
. They are a staple food crop in Uganda
and other east Africa
n countries and are used to make Matoke
.
East African Highland bananas (commonly shortened to EAHB) are also known as the Mutika/Lujugira subgroup.
Their leaves are also darker green and dull, a difference more apparent when comparing them side by side with other banana cultivars from a distance.
The inflorescence
has peduncle
s covered with coarse hair. The bract
s are ovate to lanceolate in shape with outer surfaces that are purple to brown and inner surfaces which are red fading to yellow towards the base. The male flowers have cream colored tepal
s with yellow lobes. The anthers are pink while the stigma
are orange.
The fruits are recurved and can vary in length. They are inflated with blunt tips. The pulp is white in unripe fruits and cream colored in ripe fruits.
include Musa brieyi De Wild. Their paternal parent is the blood banana
subspecies
(Musa acuminata ssp. zebrina) of the wild banana species
Musa acuminata
.
East African Highland bananas are a subgroup and refers to about 200 individual banana cultivars (or clones). They can be subdivided into five distinct groups of clones known as clone sets:
from Southeast Asia
during the 1st to 6th century AD, probably via trade. They are genetically distinct from the other AAA cultivars, having evolved locally in the East Africa
n region for over a millenium. They are found nowhere else in the world and East Africa has been called the secondary center of banana diversity because of this (with Southeast Asia being the first). East African Highland bananas are especially diverse in Uganda
, Burundi
, and Rwanda
.
, Tanzania
, Burundi
, and Rwanda
. Per capita annual consumption of bananas in Uganda is the highest in the world at 0.7 kilogram daily per person. Including Rwanda and Burundi, consumption is about 250 kilogram per person annually (about 3 to 11 bananas each day). Uganda itself is the second largest producer of bananas in the world. It is, however, one of the smallest exporters, the crops being intended mostly for domestic consumption.
East African Highland bananas are so important as food crops that matoke
, the traditional meal made from steamed bananas, is synonymous for the word "food" in Uganda.
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s originating from East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. They are a staple food crop in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and other east Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n countries and are used to make Matoke
Matoke
Matoke, also known as Matooke or Ibitoke , is a meal consisting of steamed green banana and is one of the national dishes of Uganda....
.
East African Highland bananas (commonly shortened to EAHB) are also known as the Mutika/Lujugira subgroup.
Description
East African Highland bananas are easily distinguishable from other banana cultivars by the numerous black (or more rarely brown or bronze) blotches on their pseudostems, giving them the appearance of polished metal. The outermost sheath of their pseudostems are a medium green, superimposed over the pink to purple underlying sheaths.Their leaves are also darker green and dull, a difference more apparent when comparing them side by side with other banana cultivars from a distance.
The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
has peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
s covered with coarse hair. The bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s are ovate to lanceolate in shape with outer surfaces that are purple to brown and inner surfaces which are red fading to yellow towards the base. The male flowers have cream colored tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s with yellow lobes. The anthers are pink while the stigma
Stigma (botany)
The stigma is the receptive tip of a carpel, or of several fused carpels, in the gynoecium of a flower. The stigma receives pollen at pollination and it is on the stigma that the pollen grain germinates. The stigma is adapted to catch and trap pollen with various hairs, flaps, or sculpturings...
are orange.
The fruits are recurved and can vary in length. They are inflated with blunt tips. The pulp is white in unripe fruits and cream colored in ripe fruits.
Taxonomy
East African Highland bananas are triploid (AAA) cultivars. Their official designation is Musa acuminata Colla (AAA-EA). SynonymsSynonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
include Musa brieyi De Wild. Their paternal parent is the blood banana
Blood banana
The blood banana , is a subspecies of the wild banana Musa acuminata native to Sumatra, Indonesia. The blood banana is an ornamental plant, named for the dark red patches on its leaves, though its small seeded fruits are also edible.-Taxonomy and nomenclature:The blood banana is a subspecies of the...
subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
(Musa acuminata ssp. zebrina) of the wild banana species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
Musa acuminata
Musa acuminata
Musa acuminata is a species of wild banana native to Southeast Asia. It is the progenitor of modern edible bananas, along with Musa balbisiana. First cultivated by humans around 8000 years ago, it is one of the earliest examples of domesticated plants.-Taxonomy and nomenclature:Musa acuminata...
.
East African Highland bananas are a subgroup and refers to about 200 individual banana cultivars (or clones). They can be subdivided into five distinct groups of clones known as clone sets:
- Mbidde or Beer clone set
- The Mbidde clone set contains 14 cultivars. Mbidde means 'beer' and clones belonging to this clone set are usually used for making banana beerBanana beerBanana beer is an alcoholic beverage made from fermentation of mashed bananas. The leavening agent is sorghum, millet or maize flour.-Etymology:In Kenya, banana beer is known as urwaga, in Uganda as lubisi, in Rwanda and Burundi as urwagwa....
. Their pulp are bitter and astringent with sticky brown excretions.- Nakitembe clone set
- Nakabululu clone set
- Nakabululu clones are soft-textured and savory. They mature quickly but their fruits are smaller and have lesser overall yields per bunch.
- Musakala clone set
- Musakala clones are characterized by slender fruits with bottle-necked tips. Other characteristics the same as the preceding three clone sets.
- Nfuuka clone set
- Nfuuka clones are characterized by inflated, rounded, or almost rectangular fruits with intermediate shaped tips. The bunch shape is mainly rectangular. Other characteristics the same as the last four clone sets. It is the most diverse of the five clone sets, a probable result of its tendency to mutateMutationIn molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
more frequently. They bear heavy compacted bunches and are thus more often exploited commercially than other clone sets.
Origin and distribution
East African Highland bananas were introduced early into AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
from Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
during the 1st to 6th century AD, probably via trade. They are genetically distinct from the other AAA cultivars, having evolved locally in the East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n region for over a millenium. They are found nowhere else in the world and East Africa has been called the secondary center of banana diversity because of this (with Southeast Asia being the first). East African Highland bananas are especially diverse in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, and Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
Economic importance
East African Highland bananas are one of the most important staple food crops in East Africa. particularly for UgandaUganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, and Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
. Per capita annual consumption of bananas in Uganda is the highest in the world at 0.7 kilogram daily per person. Including Rwanda and Burundi, consumption is about 250 kilogram per person annually (about 3 to 11 bananas each day). Uganda itself is the second largest producer of bananas in the world. It is, however, one of the smallest exporters, the crops being intended mostly for domestic consumption.
East African Highland bananas are so important as food crops that matoke
Matoke
Matoke, also known as Matooke or Ibitoke , is a meal consisting of steamed green banana and is one of the national dishes of Uganda....
, the traditional meal made from steamed bananas, is synonymous for the word "food" in Uganda.
See also
- BananaBananaBanana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
- Banana cultivar groupsBanana cultivar groupsAlmost all modern edible banana and plantain cultivars are hybrids and polyploids of the wild, seeded bananas Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. They are almost always seedless and hence sterile, so they are propagated vegetatively...
- EnseteEnseteEnsete, or Enset, is a genus of plants, native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. It is one of the three genera in the banana family, Musaceae.- Domesticated enset in Ethiopia :...
- Musa acuminataMusa acuminataMusa acuminata is a species of wild banana native to Southeast Asia. It is the progenitor of modern edible bananas, along with Musa balbisiana. First cultivated by humans around 8000 years ago, it is one of the earliest examples of domesticated plants.-Taxonomy and nomenclature:Musa acuminata...
- Musa balbisianaMusa balbisianaMusa balbisiana is a species of wild banana native to South Asia. It is one of the ancestors of modern cultivated bananas along with Musa acuminata. It grows lush leaves in clumps and grows with a more upright habit than most cultivated bananas. Flowers grow in inflorescences coloured red to...
- PlantainPlantainPlantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...