East African Highland bananas

East African Highland bananas
A bunch of East African Highland bananas
Species	Musa acuminata
Cultivar group	Musa acuminata (AAA-EA) or the Mutika/Lujugira subgroup of the AAA Group
Origin	Uganda
Cultivar group members	See text

East African Highland bananas (EAHB) are triploid banana cultivars originating from the African Great Lakes region. They are a staple food crop in Uganda , Tanzania and other Great Lakes countries, and are used to make matoke.

East African Highland bananas are also known as the Mutika/Lujugira subgroup.

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 has peduncles covered with coarse hair. The bracts 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 tepals 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.

East African Highland bananas are triploid (AAA) cultivars. Their official designation is Musa acuminata Colla (AAA-EA). Synonyms include Musa brieyi De Wild. Their paternal parent is the blood banana subspecies (M. acuminata ssp. zebrina) of the wild banana species Musa acuminata.