Pineapple

The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant and fruit, native to Brazil, Bolivia, and

Paraguay. The plant is a bromeliad (family Bromeliaceae), a short, herbaceous perennial with 30 or

more trough-shaped and pointed leaves 30–100 cm long, surrounding a thick stem. The leaves of the

Smooth Cayenne cultivar mostly lack spines except at the leaf tip, but the Spanish and Queen

cultivars have large spines along the leaf margins. The fruit was named "pineapple" because of its

resemblance to a pine cone. The native Tupi word for the fruit was anana, meaning "excellent

fruit". This word became the source of the word ananas, which is the word for pineapple in many

languages. Its natural pollinators are Hummingbirds.

The fruitlets of a pineapple are arranged in two interlocking spirals, eight spirals in one

direction, thirteen in the other; each being a Fibonacci number. This is one of many examples of

Fibonacci numbers appearing in nature.

At one time, most canned and fresh pineapples were produced on Smooth Cayenne plants. Since

about 2000, the most common fresh pineapple fruit found in U.S. and European supermarkets is a

low-acid hybrid that was developed in Hawaii in the early 1970s.

Pineapple is commonly used in desserts and other types of fruit dishes, or served on its

own. Fresh pineapple is often somewhat expensive as the tropical fruit is delicate and difficult to

ship. It will not ripen once harvested, so must be harvested ripe and brought to the consumer

without delay. Pineapple is therefore most widely available canned. The pineapple juice has been

fermented into an alcoholic beverage commonly called pineapple wine which is a type of fruit wine,

most commonly produced in Hawaii.

Truly ripe pineapples are not found in the supermarket because almost all pineapple fruits

are harvested at the mature-green stage of maturity. Fruit of the low-acid hybrid, usually

containing "gold" in the brand name, are of good and consistent quality. Fruit of the best quality

will have a fresh crown and little or no obvious shrinkage or wrinkling of the shell.

Pineapple contains a proteolytic enzyme bromelain, which digests food by breaking down

protein. Pineapple juice can thus be used as a marinade and tenderizer for meat. The enzymes in

pineapples can interfere with the preparation of some foods, such as jelly or other gelatin-based

desserts. Some have claimed that pineapple has benefits for some intestinal disorders while others

claim that it helps to induce childbirth when a baby is overdue. It can also be used in savory

dishes to enhance digestion.

Pineapple is a good source of manganese, as well as containing significant amounts of

vitamin C and Vitamin B1.

The pineapple spread from its original area through cultivation, and by the time of

Christopher Columbus it grew throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean (West Indies).

Columbus may have taken a sample back to Europe. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines,

Hawai'i (introduced in the early 19th century, first commercial plantation 1886) and Guam. The

fruit was successfully cultivated in European hothouses beginning in 1720. Common cultivated

varieties include Red Spanish, Hilo, Smooth Cayenne, St. Michael, Kona Sugarloaf, Natal Queen, and

Pernambuco. The flesh is very tart, except for varieties such as the Del Monte Gold which are bred