Plant of the Week
Pineapple
Latin: Ananas comosus
The food spread across our holiday table represents a pictorial
history of our culture and civilization. The rolls, made from cereal grains,
establish our connection with European culture but the turkey and cranberries
identify us as Americans. Foods from all quarters of the globe have found their
way to into the stew of our melting-pot society; some have gained acceptance
while others have been shunned. A few tropical foods, such as the banana and
pineapple, have established a permanent place at our table while plantain and
taro have not.
The pineapple is a short lived tropical perennial belonging to
the bromeliad family, a curious group of plants found only in the New World. In
tropical regions pineapples grow about five feet tall with their long, stiff,
sword-shaped leaves in an upright rosette. If given all the space they want
plants form neat circular rosettes three feet across.
The pineapple flower is an unusual affair consisting of 100 to
200 individual blossoms. Unlike most fruit, the six to eight-pound pineapple
fruit forms without of the benefit of pollination, hence it never contains
seeds.
The pineapple is thought to be native to the Parana-Paraguay
River drainage of South America but when Europeans arrived they encountered it
throughout the Caribbean islands and much of tropical America. Columbus took the
pineapple back to Spain with him on his second voyage in 1493. The most common
pineapple is an old selection called ‘Smooth Cayenne’ which was first
commercially grown in the 1830 but was cultivated by the Indians of northern
South America long before that.
Because sea voyages were so slow, pineapples were a highly
prized delicacy that only the wealthiest Europeans could afford. In 17th century
Europe the pineapple became a centerpiece for fancy dinner parties where the
upper class would rent pineapples to display on raised pedestals on their
tables. You knew you had arrived if you were actually wealthy enough to eat the
fruit.
The French writer Alexis de Tocqueville who traveled in America
in the 1830’s and commented on American Democracy observed that sailors in
Newport, RI would display pineapples on their front stoops to show they were
home from a Caribbean voyage and had fruit to share. From these early traditions
the pineapple motif became popular in wallpaper, embroidery and architectural
adornments where they symbolized wealth and generosity.
As a fruit the pineapple is the third most important tropical
crop. It is produced in all tropical countries with Indonesia, the Philippines
and Brazil the largest producers. About 80% of the world supply is canned with
the remainder consumed fresh.
Pineapple plants must be at least a year old to fruit with
plants usually fruited two or three times before being replaced by new plants.
In olden days pineapple growers used to burn brush around the field or beat
their plants with a stick to get them to flower. In the 1960’s scientists
learned that a natural plant hormone called ethylene triggered flower
development in bromeliads. Today a sprayable form of ethylene is used to
synchronize flowering so that fruit ripen all at the same time, thus simplifying
harvest.
Pineapple plants can be grown as a houseplant, and if you are
patient they will even produce a pineapple. Get a fresh pineapple at the store,
choosing one that has an attractive, fresh looking crown. Cut off the crown and
pot it in a six inch pot in regular potting soil. In two to three months the
plant will root. Give the new plant as much light as possible but be sure to
keep the night temperature above 65 degrees. Plants must have at least 25 normal
sized leaves to be large enough to flower and produce fruit. Several years may
be required to grow the plant that large.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
December 20, 2002
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