The Dwarf Cavendish banana is a widely grown and commercially important Cavendish cultivar. The name "Dwarf Cavendish" is in reference to the height of the pseudostem, not the fruit. Young plants have maroon or purple blotches on their leaves.
Dwarf Cavendish leaves are broad with short petioles. Its shortness makes it stable, wind-resistant, and easier to manage. This, in addition to its fast growth rate, makes it ideal for plantation cultivation. An easily recognizable characteristic of this cultivar is that the male bracts and flowers are not shed. The fruits of the Dwarf Cavendish cultivar range from about 15 to 25 cm in length, and are thin skinned. Each plant can bear up to 90 fingers. Cavendish bananas were named after William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. Though not the first known banana specimens in Europe, around 1834 Cavendish received a shipment of bananas courtesy of the chaplain of Alton Towers. His gardener, Sir Joseph Paxton cultivated them in the greenhouses of Chatsworth House.