Interesting Facts about Pineapple

The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant with an edible fruit, also called a pineapple, and the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuries. The introduction of the pineapple cultivation to Europe in the 17th century made it a significant cultural icon of luxury. Since the 1820s, pineapple has been commercially grown in greenhouses and many tropical plantations. Further, it is the third most important tropical fruit in world production. In the 20th century, Hawaii was a dominant producer of pineapples, especially for the US; however, by 2016, Costa Rica, Brazil, and the Philippines accounted for nearly one-third of the world's production of pineapples.

1. Here is something really surprising – more than 200 flowers are produced by a single pineapple plant. These flowers have their individual fruits which look like scales. These individual fruits join together to form a single pineapple.

2. The 200 flowers that we talked about usually have different colors ranging from purple to red and even lavender. There are some cultivar which get way more than 200 flowers.

3. A pineapple plant can, in the wild, stay alive and continue giving fruits for up to 50 years. 4. Pineapple belongs to the family called bromeliad. Of all the plants that belong to this family, pineapple is the most economically profitable. 5. Did you know that almost every party of pineapple can be used for alcohol and vinegar production? Apart from the the non-edible parts (the parts that humans cannot eat) can actually be used as food for animals that are domesticated! 6. Each pineapple has individual segments. These segments interlock with each other in two helices – 13 in one direction and 8 in the other direction – each of which is a Fibonaccinumber. 7. Did you know that though pineapple is today available worldwide, it actually originated in a place between today’s Paraguay and Brazil? This means, this fruit is indigenous to South America.

8. Though the fruit had a modest beginning, it quickly spread across South America and soon made its way into places like Mexico, Central America and Caribbean. 9. Ancient civilizations like the Mayans and the Aztecs were very well-familiar with this fruit. However, it reached Europe after a very long time in 1493.It was Christopher Columbus who took the fruit back to Europe. 10. The first ever record of the word ‘Pineapple’ dates back to 1398. However, back then, the word was actually a description of ‘pine cones’. In 1694, for the first time in history of humankind, ‘pine cones’ were called as pine cones and not ‘pineapples’! 11. In year 1664, European explorers reached Americas. They saw the fruit and the found a striking resemblance between pine cones and the fruit. No wonder they called it ‘pineapple’. So actually, between 1664 and 1694, the word ‘pineapple’ referred to both the fruit and the pine cones.

12. A pineapple (fruit) can take up to 3 years for growing and becoming mature on a plant. But, harvesting is done earlier than that. However, if cultivation is done by crown cutting and plantation, results are faster. 13. Growing a pineapple is really easy. All you have to do is cut off the top of the pineapple and put it back in soil but before that, the crown has to be dried partially. Simply plant the top of the fruit and it will grow. So, want to want start a pineapple business?

14. Once pineapples are harvested, they just won’t ripen any further. This simply means that if you keep the fruit you just bought for a few days or a week or so, do not expect the fruit to ripen even further. What you bought is how it will stay 15. The reason why a pineapple is harvested slightly before it fully ripens is that once that happens, it becomes difficult to store it. 16. A pineapple that is fully ripen will stay for a maximum of 2 days under normal conditions and maximum for a week under refrigerated conditions. This means that the fruit is very perishable once fully ripe. 17. Here is something more interesting – only one pineapple is produced by a single plant in a single season.

18. Pineapple is pollinated by some birds and even bats. Hummingbird is one such bird which is responsible for pollination of pineapples. 19. The only US state where pineapples are still grown is Hawaii. The first cultivation of pineapple in Hawaii took place in 18th century. 20. Pineapple is commercially grown in several countries. The countries with maximum pineapple production are: Vietnam. 0.66 million tonnes

Mexico. 0.82 million tonnes

Nigeria. 1.46 million tonnes

India. 1.74 million tonnes

Indonesia. 1.84 million tonnes

China. 1.889 million tonnes

Thailand. 1.915 million tonnes

Philippines 2.51 million tonnes

Brazil. 2.65 million tonnes

Costa Rica. 2.916 million tonnes