Ananas

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For the city and municipality in Tocantins state, Brazil, see Ananás, Tocantins.
Ananas
Pineapple (Ananas comosus)
Pineapple (Ananas comosus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Bromeliaceae
Subfamily: Bromelioideae
Genus: Ananas
Mill.
Species

See text.
Pineapple plantation
Pineapple plantation
Ananas bracteatus var. striatus
Ananas bracteatus var. striatus
Fruit of Ananas bracteatus var. tricolor
Fruit of Ananas bracteatus var. tricolor

The genus Ananas belongs to the Bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae). It is best known for the species Ananas comosus, better known as the pineapple.

This genus originated in South America and was brought to the Caribbean Islands by the Carib Indians. In 1493, Christopher Columbus first saw plants of this genus in Guadeloupe. It was brought to Europe, and from there was distributed to the Pacific Islands by the Spanish and the English. Commercial pineapple plantations were established in Hawaii, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Florida and Cuba. The pineapple has become one of the world's most popular fruits.

The tough leaves grow in large rosettes, arising basally from a crown. These leaves are long and lanceolate with a serrate or thorny margin. The flowers, arising from the heart of the rosette, each have their own sepals. They grow into a compact head on a short, robust stalk. The sepals become fleshy and juicy and develop into the well-known complex form of the pseudocarp fruit, crowned by a rosette of leaves.

Ananas species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Batrachedra comosae, which feeds exclusively on A. comosus.

The word Ananas is derived from the Guarani name for the pineapple, via Portuguese.

[edit] Chemistry

Pineapples contain both bromelain and papain to which it owes its meat tenderizing properties.

[edit] Ethnomedical Use

The fruit and roots are used as anti-inflammatory, proteolytic agent, and a root decoction for diarrhea.

[edit] Species and varieties


Ananas nanus, habitat, Suriname
Ananas nanus, habitat, Suriname
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