Talk:Pineapple

Seeds

Where are the seeds in a Pineapple? Rich Farmbrough 17:37, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC)

The pineapple is normally seedless and cultivated vegetatively, but when present they are embedded in the so-called fruit. I tried to google for a picture but was unsuccessful. Anyone got a link? WormRunner | Talk 18:03, 1 Jul 2004 (UTC)

You have to remember that—to the extent possible—for fruits that have commercial value, seed production is essentially bred out of farmed varieties. The reasons for this are many. For examples: seeds will interfere with your enjoyment of the fruit, seeds may make processing difficult. But the main reason in many varieties is preservation of varietal characteristics. Seeds are a form of sexual reproduction; the offspring do not always exactly resemble the parents. Planting asexual or vegetatively produced progeny guarantees a fruit that is just like the parent plant (assuming you maintain proper growing conditions) - Marshman 02:23, 3 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Pineapple seeds look like small apple seed. The production of botanical seeds in pineapple depends on two distinct phenomena, fertility and self-incompatibility. The first factor determines the proportion of ovules that are fertilized and produce a viable seed. The second factor depends on the strength of the self-incompatibility reaction, a physiological process that prevents, more or less effectively, the fertilization of the ovule by pollen from the same plant or clone. Wild pineapples tend to be more fertile and less self-incompatible than cultivated ones. Modern cultivation is monoclonal, so very few seeds can be formed, although one pineapple inflorescence bears hundreds or even thousands of ovules (you can see them -undeveloped- in the cavities under the "fruit" shell). Seedy pineapples can be produced under traditional cultivation, in Southern America, because it is often polyclonal, i.e. several varieties are cultivated in the same plot. NB: some authors use the word "seed" to designate suckers or crowns used for new planting, thence the expression "botanical seed". Geo

Main areas of production

I would disagree with the Asia statement in this page.

The main growing areas are: Ivory Coast (150,000 tons in 2003), Costa Rica, Cameroon, Ghana, Brazil, Honduras, Ecuador, South Africa

You might well be correct. While Asia is a main source of pineapples for the western US, the areas you cite could be much bigger producers. Pineapple production in Hawaii was moved to Asia (Philippines) in the past decade or so - Marshman 17:11, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I DISAGREE. Previous information was correct, Mr. Marshman. The statistical databases of FAO confirms South East Asia as source of the world major pineapple crops, in 2004.

(in thousands of metric tons)

1. Thailand 1,997 2. Philippines 1,759 3. Brazil 1,477 4. China 1,403 5. India 1,300 6. Costa Rica 1,077 7. Nigeria 889 followed by Nigeria, Mexico, Indonesia and Kenya (500+), Colombia, Malaysia, Venezuela and Bangladesh (300+)

Seeds

the pineapple is not really a fruit, it is a flower and as such does not have any seeds.

You need to read the articles on flowers and fruits. The pineapple is a fruit (which follows from the flowers). To say it is a flower is to mean we eat the petals, etc. However, I suspect your concept comes from the fact that the majority of the flesh we eat actually develops from non-flower parts that support the flowers and developing fruit; so it is called an accessory fruit. In the somewhat similar case of the artichoke, the part eaten is the base of the structure that holds the flowers—harvested before the flowers even develop (in bud), so the artichoke is not a fruit - Marshman 17:11, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

The crown of the pineapple is the beginning of the next plant, which is inhibited during commercial growth.

The crown is one method of vegetative reproduction (see discussion at top of page about "seeds") - Marshman

Nathan (pineapple importer)

The pineapple is a multiple fruit, botanically a syncarp. Indeed, each pineapple "eye" is a fruit. Pineapple flowers are fused at their base, around a same axis. Imagine this is the same as a corn (maize) ear, where all the grains would be partly fused, and fused with the central axis. The bracts (foliar structures) subtending each individual flower are also fused to some extent, only the upper part remaining free (taking the appearance of a scale in the mature pineapple). After anthesis (opening of the individual flowers), each flower develops parthenocarpically into a berry (which means that this development does not depend on the formation of a botanical seed in the ovary), with the growth of all flower parts, excepting petals, style and anthers, which dry and fall, and including bracts. These fleshy berries and the fibrous axis constitute the pineapple.

The crown of the pineapple is present at anthesis, however it resumes growth when the whole pineapple matures. In some varieties, it can reach appreciable proportions, so, to avoid shipping and selling all this green mass, the crown is manually "reduced" by cutting its growth axis with a cutting tool. On the contrary, when the pineapple is cultivated for the canning industry, the crown is left undamaged, so it can provide an excellent planting material for the next planting cycle. Geo

Hand grenades

Ian Fleming's James Bond books use the term "pineapple" to refer to hand grenades. Should this be mentioned?

Probably. But under the article on hand-grenades seems more appropriate as that is the more logical approach. But might have a place here as well - Marshman 06:31, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

If "pineapple" refers, in either a fictional or real-life context, to a specific type of hand grenade, we should create a Pineapple (disambiguation) page.--67.142.129.10 05:12, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

"pineapple" does not refer to any particular type of hand grenade, but is rather a slang nickname for all of them, originating (it is thought) in the 1930's

I'm pretty sure it does refer to a specific type of fragmentation grenade due to the design of its sectional surface. Many types of hand grenades look nothing like a pineapple, and if they are still colloquially referred to as pineapples, I'd wager that it's just a carryover from an earlier time when that style of grenade was more common. Also, this doesn't belong under the cultivars heading. I'm relocating it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.234.200.163 (talk) 05:24, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Cultivars

We should list the various cultivars of the pineapple and their characteristics. David.Monniaux 08:52, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

Ornamental pineapples

Does anyone have any information on these? It has become popular to include these in bouquets of flowers and i would like to find out more about them, I cant find much on google so i was wondering if anyone more knowledgable of plants would be able to add a section to the article about them! I think it would make an interesting addition!

I have a photo of one (which i will ulpoad shortly and include here) for if/when a section is added. Thanks! Tekana | Talk 13:50, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

Sorry it isnt the best quality, there is a florist down the road so if a better picture is preffered, i should be able to take a photo of one of thiers! Tekana | Talk 14:05, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

That was inedible red pineapple. Chinese use them as gift at Chinese New Year. Klewung 08:01, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Mathematical Properties

The diamonds on the surface of a pineapple form two interlocking spirals, eight go in one direction, thirteen in the other - both of which are Fibonacci numbers. This is just one of many examples of Fibonacci Numbers appearing in nature.

What does this mean? 8 go in one direction, 13 in the other? Does this means that there are 8 clockwise (or anticlockwise) spirals alongside each other and 13 in the other direction? I don't have a pineapple to hand to check but I can't see how this would happen with hexagonal "sections" (though the text in this section says they're diamonds). Either way, I think the wording needs clearing up - it's hard to imagine what this actually means. (M4rk 17:07, 2 October 2005 (UTC))

This is perfectly and strikingly true (and pineapple fruitlets surface is not a regular hexagone). For small pineapples (underdeveloped or wild), you get 5 and 8, also Fibonacci numbers. Geo

Pineapple is not citrus (nor mulberry)

I deleted the sentence that suggested that Pineapple is a citrus fruit according to "scientists." I can't find any reference anywhere that makes that assertion. As you can see from the information below (taken from Wikipedia articles on "Pineapple" and "Citrus," pineapples are not even in the same class or order or family as citrus, much less the genus citrus itself.

I am not a botanist and do not claim any credentials of my own, but the statement that pineapples are citrus fruits seems clearly to be in error. Kenington 10:49, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Citrus (Wikipedia) Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Sapindales Family: Rutaceae Genus: Citrus

Pineapple (Wikipedia) Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Bromeliaceae Genus: Ananas Species: A. comosus

I see that someone put down that pineapple is a tree related to the mulberry. This is also very wrong :) Pineapples are monocots (which include grasses, onions, etc.), specifically bromeliads. I'll be correcting that in just a moment. -- Limulus 10:05, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

If pineapples are related to grasses and onions (which is a grass), and i agree that pineapples are, then pineapples are NOT fruit, which the first paragraph says they are. Pineapples do not have seeds inside. Before someone says anything about bananas, first off- bananas used to before human cultivation, and second- banana NOT A FRUIT, there is no banana TREE, it is the world's largest herb, so unless you can make the case that thyme and basil or fruits... 24.182.142.254 (talk) 21:55, 16 August 2008 (UTC) correction-pineapples do have seeds, but still NOT FRUIT, sorry!

Pineapple varieties

I'm wondering about the recent comment about pineapple varieties by the co-author of The Pineapple: Botny, Producton and Uses (2003), an amazing pineapple reference. The comment describes the "gold" hybrid as the first truly important pineapple hybrid developed by modern breeders.

But, what about the pineapple hybrids developed in Taiwan over the past several decades? http://pineappleblog.blogspot.com/2006/01/taiwan-pineapple-varieties.html Several of these, like the "Osmanthus" pineapple and the "Cherimoya" pineapple seem really remarkable. One, the "Perfume" pineapple, was the basis for a new hybrid developed by Del Monte Fresh Produce, the "Honey Gold," which is expected to be commercially available later this year. http://pineappleblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/new-pineapple-variety-in-2006.html

--Pineappleblog.com 07:16, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Many interesting hybrids (in fact, as pineapple is self-incompatible, quite all cultivars, either of precolombine origin or from modern breeding programs, are hybrids between two other cultivars) have been produced by modern breeding, and Taiwanese institutions have contributed to the list. Some have taken market niches at country level. The "Gold" pineapple is the first hybrid that was able to compete successfully with the ancient cultivar 'Smooth Cayenne' on the global market, which had accaparated the attention of most agronomists. Note that the 'Gold' or 'Extra Sweet' existed long ago (from the 1970's), and that its commercial development has only been possible with the development of adapted techniques along the production and marketing chain. Other hybrids of comparable value have not benefitted from the same inversion. Geo

The pineapple is a cousin to the apple in the fruit world. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.229.208.155 (talk) 02:28, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Hospitality

Is the reason for the Pineapple being a sign of hospitality, why I have seen it on the entranceways of people's homes? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.53.155.204 (talk • contribs) 03:37, 2 June 2005.

I have just started reading Wikipedia and was interested in what I would find about pineapple. I was co-editor and co-author of a recent book on the subject that was published by CAB International in 2003. I have made some changes to the original text (added more detail to the description of leaf characteristics, added the names of three important cultivars, deleted the comments about finding a ripe pineapple, and added a comment about the best way presently to select a good pineapple) and in the light of comments below will add additional information about cultivars. Below please find some comments on questions raised in the "discussion" from first to last follow.

Pineapple as a symbol of hospitality.

Fran Beauman in her recent book "The Pineapple King of Fruits" (Chatto & Windus, UK but available through Amazon.com) argues, I believe, convincingly, and with exhaustive documentation from early original sources, that pineapple was not so much a symbol of hospitality as a symbol of status. Much of the symbolism apparently began in England where pineapples were grown in hot houses at exhorbitant cost. This high cost of production, the equivalent of several thousand pounds or an equivalent amount of dollars, and limited availability meant that only the very wealthy could afford to present a pineapple before their guests. With the invention of the steam engine and the subsequent development of steam ships, pineapple became widely available to the commoner and ceased to be a status symbol. For the rest of the story, I recommend this delightful but thoroughly documented book. Also, Ms. Beauman notes that if the symbol seen on entranceways, gate and bed posts, etc. do not have a leafy crown or leaves at the base of the fruit they are a representation of a pine cone rather than of a pineapple. My grandparents bed had such bedposts and after reading "The Pineapple", I was made aware that the symbols were pine cones rather than pineapples. According to Ms. Beauman, pinecones also were important symbols in England and presumably this carried over into the U.S.

Seeds

The seeds of pineapple, when present, are about 3/8 to 1/2" below the surface of the diamond-shaped structures on the shell. If one cuts downward through one of the fruitlets (also called eyes in the pineapple industry), you may be able to still see the ovary, which is quite obvious when the fruit is at flowering stage. At that stage, many immature ovules are present but almost none become fertilized because pineapple is self-incompatable (cannot be self pollinated). Cross pollination between cultivars will usually but not always result in seed production. I will try to remember to add a picture showing the fruitlet structure.

Seediness Bred Out

Except for the "gold" fruits in the supermarket today, all pineapples in commercial production are cultivars found by Spanish explorers or selected from that material. The "gold" hybrid is the firts truly important pineapple cultivar produced by plant breeders. Never, never underestimate the consumate horticultural skills of early native peoples. Progress probably was slow but improvements by modern methods of plant breeding are relatively minor compared to what was accomplished by native peoples.

Main Areas of Production

You can find public information on this topic at www.fao.org. The countries producing the largest tonnages are Thailand, Philippines (sometimes flip-flop), Brazil, which recently recalculated their production and stated they were the world's largest producer. It gets a bit iffy after that so best go look up the statistics. Costa Rica is the largest grower of fresh pineapple but good statistics on fresh production aren't so readily available.

Pineapples as ornamentals

Some breeding work has been done to increase the variety of pineapple available with good characteristics as ornamentals. This is a relatively small industry and I expect it would be difficult to get good statistics on it.

For news and information about pineapples, go to [1]. I'll try to add more pictures there and then if someone wants to include them in the Wikipeda page, they would be welcome to do that. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.171.125.25 (talk • contribs) 00:40, 16 February 2006.

This is based on the explanation I've heard from my mother, so it may be suspect, but makes sense to me, particularly if you've noticed that the pineapple as a symbol of hospitatlity is a southern USA thing: ship captains with their home harbors in Charleston, South Carolina, would bring them back from voyages as symbols of good luck or perhaps high value -- giving one as a present was thought to be extremely thoughtful. Regardless, it remains thoughtful to this day to bring a pineapple along as present to someone's housewarming. IvyGold 15:27, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

The top and bottom of the former logo for Super 8 motels, phased out beginning in 2008, represents a pineapple at the top and bottom. 206.53.197.24 (talk) 00:08, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

The Etymology?

In 1495 a companion of Christopher Columbus on his second voyage wrote: "There are also some like tall artichoke plants but four times as tall, which give a fruit in the shape of a pine cone, twice as big, which fruit is excellent, and it can be cut with a knife, and it is very wholesome."--“Michele de Cuneo’s Letter of the Second Voyage, 28 October, 1495,” in Journals and Other Documents on the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, trans. and ed. Samuel Eliot Morison (New York: 1963), 216.

In 1514, Petr Martyr d'Anghiera reported: “The most invincible King Ferdinand relates that he has seen another fruit brought from these countries. It is like a pine-nut [piña, pinecone] in form and color, covered with scales and firmer than a melon. Its flavor excels all other fruits. This fruit, which the king prefers to all others, does not grow upon a tree but upon a plant similar to an artichoke or an acanthus. I myself have tasted it, for it was the only one which had arrived unspoiled, the others having rotted during the long voyage. Spaniards who have eaten them fresh plucked where they grow, speak with the highest appreciation of their delicate flavor.” Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, De Orbe Novo: The Eight Decades of Peter Maryr d’Anghiera, trans. and annot. Francis Augustus MacNutt, 2 vols., (New York: 1912), II. 9, pp. 262-3.

Peter Martyr later adds, “The natives call the plant bearing this fruit hibuero.” De Orbe Novo, III. 4, v. 1, p. 325. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.184.186.125 (talk) 17:28, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

"When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit, they called them pineapples." - This would hardly apply to the Portuguese and Spanish (i.e., European) explorers which discovered the pineapple and spread it to other tropical parts of the world in the 1500s. Both call it "ananas", not pineapple. Maybe the English called it pineapple when the fruit made it to England in the late 1600s? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.178.182.152 (talk) 02:39, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

The French version of this page seems to have a different etymology. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.192.62.63 (talk • contribs) 00:54, 23 April 2006.

The OED has yet another variant - it claims the original (Peruvian) word is nanas (not plural), as recorded by André Thevenet in 1555, and does not offer any meaning for nanas beyond "pineapple" (are there any Amerindian language experts in the house who can shed light on the perfume/excellent fruit thing?). Personally, I'd be inclined to believe the OED unless someone can come up with a reputable source for either "anana" or "nana nana". FiggyBee 07:15, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

"Nanas" and "Ananas" are the most common Amerindian names for the plant and the fruit in all tropical and subtropical South America, East of the Andes, i.e. all the Amazon basin and around, although different vernacular names coexist in most ethnic groups. These terms were certainly vehicular, across different ethnic groups and languages, which makes any etymological inferences from a particular language very difficult and uncertain. Geo

So it would be nice to write it in a NPOV way that other people translating this to other languages will translate it NPOVly and clearly. (Like me:-)--Juan de Vojníkov 16:29, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Interesting to find that 'Nanas' or 'Ananas' is a particularly common word for pineapples, in languages such as Malay, Indonesian, Arabic, Greek, French, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, and sometimes Spanish and Portuguese. Sometimes pineapples are referred to as 'piña' in South American Spanish, also in Brazilian Portuguese pineapples are referred to as 'abacaxi' from native amerindian language.65.204.193.30 (talk) 14:37, 18 March 2009 (UTC)kl§

Drop the 'American'

I would suggest dropping 'American' from the statement 'Pineapples are also occasionally used as topping for American pizza' as pineapple as a pizza topping is not restricted to America. For instance, in Australia one of the most popular types of pizza is Hawaiian pizza which consists mainly of ham and pineapple. --Colourblind 03:29, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

I think the intent was to distinguish between "authentic," Italian pizza and the pizzas made outside of Italy. I would suggest "American-style" as a compromise. -GSwift 18:31, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

I have to disagree; I lived for four years in Italy and often ate pizza Hawaii, true Italian pizza with ham and pineapples. The idea may have originated in America, but is nevertheless used in authentic Italian food. Why not just drop the whole sentence? It's really as pointless as saying "tomatoes are often used on hamburgers" in an article on tomatoes. 81.83.240.94 16:20, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like a good idea to me, I'll go put that on the tomato article, if it's not there already.

Hmm... as far as I know, being born and having lived in Italy for most of my life, Hawaii pizza in Italy is in the menus just for the joy of American tourists, and the thrill of (very) few Italians willing to try something exotic. BTW, you also find McDonalds in Italy - does that make industrial hamburgers into "authentic Italian food" too? :-P Sergio Ballestrero 20:07, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

How about changing it to "Hawaiian" then? It's a topping for "Hawaiian pizza" which has the same principle no matter which countries it's eaten in. And it's generally used ONLY for Hawaiian pizza (at least, I've never seen someone order pineapple by itself) so I think the label is accurate. 24.6.99.30 02:01, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Good idea. It's true though that a "real" Italian pizza will not have pineapple on it. The Hawaiian pizzas that you find in Rome and so have been made for tourists. Hawaiian pizza is however eaten throughout the whole of Europe. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.200.81.57 (talk) 22:45, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Usage in culture

Under this section in the article it reads "the pineapple has become associated with the notion of welcome." Its sited so thats great and all but 'welcome' links to a disambig for "welcome" with nothing like 'the notion of welcome'-- rather useless as is. So we should either (1) remove the link or (2) link directly to a new article "the notion of welcome" or something like that. I suppose that could be a useful article if it reviewed different cultures understandings and approaches to "the notion of welcome".. but.. seriously? whatevers clever AerinZero (talk) 22:31, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

In the popular television show, Psych, a pineapple can be found hidden in every episode. —Preceding unsigned comment added by PsychFan1 (talk • contribs) 19:54, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Fresh Pineapple

The statements in the article that "(pineapple) must be harvested ripe and brought to the consumer without delay" and in the next paragraph that "Truly ripe pineapples are not found in the supermarket because almost all pineapple fruits are harvested at the mature-green stage of maturity," seem to be contradictory. Could someone edit this so that these are one statement or something that makes sense together. I looked up this article because I was wondering what the predominant acid is that gives pineapple its flavor. Is it malic acid, does anyone know?

• I presume that pineapple SHOULD be harvested ripe. However, major supermarkets harvest virtually all fruit and vegetables intentionally under-ripe so they don't go off and look good, taste be damned. M0ffx 10:10, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

................................................................................ Question

How could the pineapple have acquired a European name in 1398 if it is a New World fruit?

The name originated in 1398, however it was used to refer to the pine cone.

Notice of import

A copy of this article was moved to wikibooks using the Import tool (with all revisions). If this article was marked for copy to wikibooks or as containing how-to sections, it can now be safely rewritten.

If contributors are interested in expanding on the practical information that was in this article, please do so on the wikibooks side. For pointers on writing wikibooks, see Wikibooks:Wikibooks for Wikipedians. --SB_Johnny|^talk|_books 11:49, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Anthelmintic

The article on tapeworms mentions that pineapples are a (perhaps folk) remedy for the parasite.. would that have anything to do with the digestive enzyme, or simply making your feces inedible to the worm and starving it?

Antihelminthic, digestive, emmenagogue, and abortive properties of pineapple are related to the bromelain enzyme complex. Note that the two former properties are sometimes given for papaya. Geo

The word is spelt anthelmintic, not antihelmintic.

It actually might be worth including in the article... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18761736 ..... There are about 3-4 papers up on the same subject... covering several different nematodes and cestodes.

AS that paper points out... drugs like vermox are starting to lose efficacy and so there is a rush to find cheap alternatives. These are really good candidates because they are easier to produce than existing medications, offer no toxic side effects, and worms are highly unlikely to adapt to these types of enzymes (they would have to completely restructure their cuticle or somehow begin producing an entire class of inhibitors which is very unlikely). Judderwocky (talk) 12:22, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Bromelain

What is the natural purpose of bromelain in the pineapple? Maybe it is a defense against fruit-eating insect larvae? Icek 06:09, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Gorilla humping reference

Resolved

When I see this page, I see this text: "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. Pinapples like to dry hump gorillas into their spare time."

When I try and edit out the last sentance, it does not show in the editor. Found it amusing, but obviously should not be here. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.224.100.48 (talk) 05:25, 9 January 2007 (UTC).

yeah i deleted it- funny as it was. didn't want my kid reading that. and it was hidden- i just deleted the spaces between the paragraphs.- ep24

aaaeeee?????? i don't get it

Allergy

I actually have a very minor reaction to eating pineapple; I come out in a cold sweat, especially in my face. Toby Douglass 14:43, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

You may insert information about possible allergies if you can provide reliable sources. Personal experience is certainly not a reliable source. Icek 10:01, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

I am much amused :-) I didn't add the comment with a view to adding allergy information in the article itself; but I must say, your comment, "personal experience is certainly not a reliable source" - while most certainly true in the general case, since people often conflate their perception of events with their existing beliefs, there is a type of general case, personal experience IS how you properly know, and to dismiss it because it is a personal experience it is to conflate the general case of invalid personal experience where perception is conflated with belief, with valid personal experience, where perception generates evidence (which however may then be misunderstood, e.g. a logically consistent but incorrect theory is presented, which is the normal failure mode for the scientific method). This is such a case, for the pineapple in my mouth and the cold sweat over my face is absolutely evident! Toby Douglass 19:29, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Toby - you are missing the point: your personal experience is not a reliable source for an encyclopedia. may i direct you to descartes as you both seem to enjoy lavish grammatical flair with a penchant for using personal experience as evidence ;] The undertow 20:51, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Anyway now I am working on this article in Czech version and I will include this problem in a special paragraph.--Juan de Vojníkov 16:15, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Here's a bit of medical evidence from webmd regarding general latex allergies: http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/10/1625_50518.htm, however I think there is a more specific reaction to pineapple or something in it because I don't have bad reactions to latex in general. I have had bad experiences when eating large amounts of pineapple (i.e. eating half a pineapple by itself without other foods). Eating it caused the inside of my lips to start bleeding, and that was followed by a couple days of bad diarhhea that had a mud-like consistency. When eating smaller amounts of pineapple, for example as an ingredient in pineapple fried rice or Hawaiian pizza, there is no bleeding of the lips and the effect on the digestive system is milder (although it still has an effect -- it creates the same urgency of needing to poo, and the stool is more "rotten" than normal). Sorry for the detail, I'm sure many of you didn't want to know that. Whether it is the amount of pineapple or whether the pineapple is raw/cooked might also have something to do with it but I'm not sure about that. 24.6.99.30 01:54, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Yeah. It sounds like tipical bromelin allergical reaction.--Juan de Vojníkov 13:35, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

I urge you to use the word "allergy" or "allergical" with care; strictly speaking an allergy is an IgE-mediated immune response. I don't know if you mean a real allergy or just some kind of hypersensitivity. Considering 24.6.99.30's problems, are these symptoms - especially the oral symptoms - the result of protease activity of bromelain on human tissue? Icek (talk) 18:17, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Pineapple cultivars

Twice you vere talking here about its varieties. I have visited many website with pineapple, but everytime they are showing there different cultivars, but not telling the key, why thoseones. The same here. Lets have a look on Czech page. We are sorting them into 4 big groups. They are namely: Cayenne group, Abacaxi, Spanish and Queen. Each group is characterized by genome similarity and simillar characteristic within the group.

Finally, why you are discribing these varieties in here?--Juan de Vojníkov 16:35, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

DOI incorrect, but I've reported it.

The DOI for the Adaikin citation I added is nonfunctional, but it is the DOI listed on the website where I saw the article. I've emailed the Taylor & Francis webmaster as well as doi-help about it. grendel|khan 07:32, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Proposed merge with pineapple

I disagree with a merge proposal Ananas into pinapple as the genera Ananas is much more than the edible pineapple which is only one species of this genera of plants HelloMojo 09:43, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

I'll buy that but with two reservations:

1. I'd like to see the Pineapple article link to the Ananas article more conspicuously.

2. This article should link to Pineapple more conspicuously, at the top. Besides the usage of ananas as a taxonomic genera, it is also the name of the fruit in some languages, e.g., modern Hebrew. As with many other borrowed words in Hebrew, I presume it's from some European or Slavic language. Alternatively, could be an ambiguous term that resolves either to Pineapple, the fruit, or to this article about the plant genus.

In any case the two articles differ on the origin of the term ananas'; they attribute it to different tribal languages. Perhaps it's common to several native American languages, in which case neither article should attribute it exclusively to one particular language. --Staronova 20:56, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Keep separate; There are eight species of Ananas, and only A. comosus is cultivated as the pineapple. As for the origin of the name, the problem is minor since both Tupi and Guarani are Tupi-Guarani languages. The two were not recognized as distinct until rather recently, so it is quite likely that older etymology refences did not attribute the origin correctly. --EncycloPetey 23:08, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

What the heck?

The scientific name for the top of a pineapple is 'the jenny'. It is not known for definite why it is called this but many scientists have given this reason: There was a girl called Jenny Mcnunar and she had very short hair. When she woke up in the morning her hair would look like the top of a pineapple. Seriously, is this verifiable? It seems really odd. Crowstar^{Vaseline-on-the-lens-Jitsu!fwends!} 15:46, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Culinary use

Use in pina colada and pizza should be noted. Badagnani 02:30, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Dietary effects

This section is far too vague... "Some People" isn't the same as X university claims in an X study conducted in [year] found that... And even saying doctors, or scientists... instead of "some people" for all I know if could be the homeless people down town living in cardboard boxes... References or no, it still should be made clear *within* the paragraphs. So could someone (i.e. a member of wikipedia who is reference equipped), fix this?--Hitsuji Kinno 01:38, 24 August 2007 (UTC) doesnt it leave a bitter taste in your mouth after you drink water after eating pineapple

Semen

There was a paragraph in the article (I removed it for now) that stated that pineapple makes semen taste better. Anyone know if this is true or verifiable? 69.40.245.207 04:02, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

Nevermind, I just saw that there is a sourced statement in the trivia section that says that it is only a rumor. 69.40.245.207 04:06, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

I have never tried semen but Your comment made me realise the difference betwen fresh and canned pineapples. Fresh ones smell like strawberries while canned smell like sperm. This my original research but I'm sure I'll find the sources as well:) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.131.137.50 (talk) 15:47, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Here is a citation about pineapple and semen. A good enough source to mention the common yet unscientific thoughts on it but I am sure prudes will object to adding it to the article. http://www.askmen.com/dating/dzimmer_100/117_love_answers.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by Satanico (talk • contribs) 03:34, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

Hawai'i was not the usa in the early 1900s

In the second paragraph under the heading "Cultivation History":

"Pineapple cultivation in the USA began in the early 1900s on Hawaii."

In the early 1900s, Hawii was not part of the USA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.45.4.173 (talk) 02:35, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Hi. A link to the german edntry is missing. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananas maybe someone could correct that. thx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.180.162.161 (talk) 08:07, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Different Genders of Pineapple?

So, my girlfriends grandmother is with us for the holidays, and she has given me the task of discovering the difference between male and female pineapples. This is a secret given to her years ago that has recently left her memory. I've been all over the web and can't find any reference to pineapples even having different sexes. For the sake of getting back to her with fact, can anyone tell me whether or not they do indeed have different genders, and if so how can you tell them a part?? Thanks.

Pineapple tree

Resolved

Would someone make this redirect? I can't, since only registered people can and I don't bother logging in. 200.88.222.60 (talk) 00:16, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Done. TheBlazikenMaster (talk) 18:10, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Copy edit tag

I've tagged the article as needing a quick copy edit. there are some strange usages in there, it looks like some contributions come from an ESL editor. Not a big deal, but it makes for a clunky read. Cheers. 24.185.105.199 (talk) 15:09, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Mis-conceptions section?

I have heard quite among people that a Pineapple is berry. I even found articles by googling saying that it is false. But trying the browsers 'Find feature' with "Berry" on the main page does not result anything.

The link I found is .

My question is where should this be presented? Common Mis-conceptions or External Links ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kamathln (talk • contribs) 05:15, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Pineapples

Resolved

There was a section titled "Pineapples" which, in very poor grammar, explained the sanskrit name for pineapples. It was extremely out of context with the rest of the article, and didn't even deserve its own section. Also, the grammar was horrible. It was one complete run-on sentence without a period at the end. Then, the citation simply stated "from (whoever)". I have removed this section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.128.54.182 (talk) 17:07, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

spines

What is the purpose of being all spiny? For a fruit this delicious you would think it would want to be edible, I thought that is how alot of fruit-bearing trees spreaded their seeds? But it seems to be built to deter animals from eating its yummy yellow insides. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.192.236.174 (talk) 04:29, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

It is often suggested that the development of sweet, edible fruit was a way to ensure the wide broadcast or spread of a plant's seeds (by making the fruit attractive to animals which might pass the seeds elsewhere) to areas further away than where the fruit might naturally drop from the tree it grew on. Particularly true for trees is the fact that seedlings may have a hard time getting established in the shadow of the parent tree, who, being already established, will out-compete it for resources. The other explanation for sugar-rich fruiting bodies around seeds is to serve as an energy-rich medium to nourish the seeds or act as a sort of compost bundle around the seed once it reaches the ground. Now, pineapples don't grow on trees, they have a tendency to cluster along the ground, unlikely to overshadow each other. There doesn't appear to be as much urgency to ensure that the seeds are widely dispersed, so perhaps the spiny growths are intended to make the fruit more difficult to be consumed by passing animals, thus guarding the energy-rich interior for the use of the plant itself, which it was truly meant to nourish. Tenmiles (talk) 05:45, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

added sources

added sources to intro and history section —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.232.93.212 (talk) 16:15, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

included info on when hawaii began cultivating pineapples —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.232.93.212 (talk) 18:36, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Ripening and Storage

I read this article and it made me recall something i've heard, that Pineapples don't ripen after harvest.

According to Maui Gold's website "Since pineapples don’t ripen any further once they’re picked..." http://www.mauipineapple.com/index.php/tips-a-facts/selecting-cutting-a-storing

According to Dole's website "Pineapples do not ripen after harvest. DOLE Pineapples are picked ripe and transported in refrigerated containers that keep the fruit at 7,5 °C at all times" http://www.doleeurope.com/Products/FreshFruit/Pineapples/tabid/98/Default.aspx

According to Postharvest Research and Technology Center at UC Davis Pineapples must be picked when ripe because they do not continue to ripen after harvest. http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Produce/Producefacts/Fruit/pineapple.shtml

Furthermore. The article states that Pineapple should be stored in a refridgerator. Here is a pdf from UC Davis that states that they should be stored at Room-temperature only. http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/FVStorage.pdf

--Popoi (talk) 23:54, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

Itching mouth

Does anyone know whether itching mouth and tongue is a sign of allergy or a normal reaction to fruit's enzymes ? Should I continue to eat my pineapple? :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.131.137.50 (talk) 15:42, 13 November 2008 (UTC) I recommend you do not continue eating pineapple as that is how I found out I found out I am severely allergic to pineapple,tropical fruits, and latex. I now have an Epipen.:( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.81.203.76 (talk) 15:52, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

Diagram the fruit, and leaves and...

Please. Thanks. 67.243.6.204 (talk) 19:24, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Nutrition

"Pineapples should also not be consumed by those with Hemophilia or by those with kidney or liver disease, as it may reduce the time taken to coagulate a consumer's blood.[4]"

Something that *increased* coagulation time would certainly be a problem for haemophiliacs, but if it *reduces* it surely that would be good? A quick Google search shows this wording is very common in "health 'advice'" sites (often *identical* wording though, which suggests to me it's been copied verbatim) but I think it's most likely that "reduce" should be replaced by "increase".

Can someone with the necessary expertise have a look and correct the article if necessary?

Thanks! 132.244.246.25 (talk) 12:57, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Corrections Needed

On Origin: Based on prospecting and collection in the 1980s and 1990s, the main area of origin of cultivated pineapples is believed to be in an area north of the Amazon at between 10 N to 10 S lat. and 55 to 75 west longitude (Coppens d'Eeckenbrugge G., Leal F. (2003) Morphology, anatomy and taxonomy, in: D. P. Bartholomew, et al. (Eds.), The Pineapple: Botany, Production and Uses, CABI Publishing, Wallingford. pp. 13-32).

On Etymology: There are two papers by Thevet (not Thevenet as indicated), on in 1557 and the other in 1561. Not having read either, all I can provide are the citations (Thevet A. (1557) Nana fruit fort excellet les sing ularitez de la France, antarctique autrement nommee Amerique:89-90. Thevet A. (1561) Nana frutto molto excellent a carte, Hist. Ind. Amer. Detta Altra Ment Francia Antartica Vinegia. pp. 196-199.).

Abacaxi is the generic name for pineapple in Brazil and the "large sweet variety" grown there probably is Perola, the most widely cultivated variety (cultivar) in that country (Chan Y.K., Coppens d'Eeckenbrugge G., Sanewski G.M. (2003) Breeding and variety improvement 33-55, in: D. P. Bartholomew, et al. (Eds.), The Pineapple: Botany, Production and Uses, CABI Publishing, Wallingford. pp. 320.).

Botany: The arrangement of fruitlets (little fruits) along the fruit stem (peduncle) of pineapple is referred to as phyllotaxy and two spiral usually can be identifed on pineapple fruits, a long spiral of which there are commonly 8 and a short spiral of which there are commonly 13. However, the gold hybrid ('MD-2' or 73-114) has larger fruitlets than does 'Smooth Cayenne', which results in deformities of the fruit. In that fruit, the long sprials usually can be found but the short spirals usually are not continuous (Ekern P.C. (1968) Phyllotaxy of pineapple plants and fruit. Botanical Gazette 129:92-94.).

History: 'Kona Sugarloaf' is not a known cultivar and on any scale, could not be considered a common cultivar. 'Smooth Cayenne' is the most widely grown cultivar and is used mostly for canning. 'MD-2' is the most widely grown cultivar for the fresh fruit export market. It is now grown on over 50,000 hectares. The commonly grown cultivars include 'Smooth Cayenne', 'MD-2', 'Queen', 'Spanish' (including 'Sinapore Spanish'), 'Perola' (mostly in Brazil), 'Manzana', and 'Espanola Roja' aka 'Red Spanish'. Many other cultivars of local importance are known (for citation, see Chan et al. above).

   The year pineapple was introduced to Hawaii is not known.  Collins (Collins J.L. (1960) The Pineapple: Botany, Cultivation and Utilization. Interscience Publishers Inc., New York.) wrote that the earliest authentic record of pineapples in Hawaii was found in the diary of Don Francisco Paula y Marin, horticulturist to the king, in an entry on January 21, 1813, he mentions that he had planted some pineapples.  Collins (1960) argued that the casual mention in a diary did not indicate an announcment of an importation.

Cultivation: In 2006, the top seven pineapple producing countries in MT were Thailand (2 705 179), Brazil (2 487 116), Philippines (1 833 910), China (1 400 000), India (1 229 400), and Costa Rica (1 200 000). In 2007, leading fresh fruit exporters in MT were Costa Rica (1 346 326), Philippines (214 914), Ecuador (82 600), Honduras (61 069), Côte d'Ivoire (60 000), Ghana (49 196), Panama (45 000), Guatamala (40 359) and Mexico (33 075)(Loeillet, D., 2008. FruiTrop - n° 154 - 2008 March - p.6-30).

The most common fresh fruit cultivar is 'MD-2', which is widely sold under various "Gold" labels. Beside being high yielding, it main attributes are relatively uniform quality throughout the year and excellent storability, i.e. it stands refrigeration at between 7 adn 10C very well without developing internal browning, a defect in almost all other pineapple cultivars grown for export.

Cultivars: See above for the principle cultivars. The Pineapple Research Institute of Hawaii hybrids 73-50, which is sold as Maui Gold and was also patented as CO2, and 73-114 and is widely known as MD-2 are just over 50% 'Smooth Cayenne' but are nothing like it in terms of vitamin C content, acidity, or flavor.

Pests and Diseases: World-wide, the principle diseases are heart and root rots caused by Phytohpthora sp. and mealybug wilt, a complex disease caused by at least two viruses and associated with feeding by mealybugs. Most pineapple cultivars that have been tested have the viruses present; heavy feeding by mealybugs brings on the wilt symptom.

Storage and Transport: Pineapple fruits are relatively inexpensive on a per pound basis and the 'MD-2' cultivar tolerates shipping well as indicated by the explosive growth of this hybrid in the fresh fruit markets and also can be kept under refrigeration for at 10 days to two weeks with little obvious deterioration in taste or appearance. Pineapple fruits do not ripen once removed from the plant as there is not starch present that can be converted to sugar as occurs in peaches, pears, etc. The fruits are ready to eat when picked as is obivous from information available from most pineapple company web sites.Dtpss3190 (talk) 22:14, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Pineapple is not a fruit

Contrary to people beliefs, pineapples are not fruits (as neither are figs, for that matter) they are more properly called infrutescences. They are a modified version of a flower, similar to an inflorescence.

The article starts: "Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is the common name for an edible tropical plant and also its fruit.[1]"

It is certainly not an "edible plant", as we don't eat the plant itself, just the "so-called fruit".

I would change to: "Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is the common name for a tropical plant and also its edible fruit.[1]" or "... its edible inflorescence".

Nutrition Variances?

I noticed that this author of this article seems to misquote the nutrition facts - following the link I find that no amount of pineapple available for reference has 94% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C, as the article states in the "Nutrition" section, nor 91% of manganese, and the link offered doesn't seem to mention Vitamin B1 at all, although I may have missed it.

Additionally, the information given here is quite different, I wonder which is more correct:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list_nut_edit.pl —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.237.13.98 (talk) 18:26, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Also, under storage and transport, there is a statement about pineapples ripening after being picked. This is untrue:

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/postharvestdata/detailreport.cfm?usernumber=53&surveynumber=267

http://www.quisqualis.com/Climacteric.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.237.13.98 (talk) 18:34, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Citation needed on Botany?

I think I came across a good reference... what do all of you think? its from the Texas A&M University. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/pineapple.htm Alicein1derland (talk) 05:55, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Bleeding Tongue

I have no allergy to pineapple, but will often have a tingling sensation / bleeding tongue after eating a whole, fresh pineapple. Judging by stories from my friends this seems to be a pretty common occurrence for someone eating a large amount of pineapple. Anyone know the cause of this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.34.229.126 (talk) 15:31, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Eating with Salt

Pineapple is often eaten with a sprinkle of salt. This can increase the perception of sweetness and may reduce some of the unpleasant feelings some people associate with eating pineapple.

Vietnamese

vi:dứa —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.252.120.40 (talk) 10:13, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Clarification or Correction needed about European Hothouse Cultivation

The article states that hothouse cultivation began in 1720. Right next to the text is the portrait of Charles II receiving the first pineapple grown in England, and the portrait is dated 1675. The discrepancy need to be corrected or explained. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Juststacey (talk • contribs) 17:07, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Botany section contains an error:pineapples live after fruiting.

The Botany section of the articles states "The pineapple is a herbaceous short-lived perennial plant which grows to 1.0 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 4.9 ft) tall. The plant only produces one fruit and then dies."

The first part is true, and accurately describes the plant's physical characterstics.

The second part is false : The pineapple plant continues to thrive after producing fruit. I have a 5 year old pineapple plant living in my backyard. It was grown from a pineapple top sourced from a commercially grown pineapple. The first fruit was harvested about 18 months ago, and the plant continues to grow. It looks as if it will flower again this summer.

In a local botanical gardens there are pink pineapples that live in a tropical glasshouse. They more or less continuously bear fruit, and the original plant base has been alive and fruiting for at least 4 years. The plants routinely produce two or three fruit, and not the single fruit suggested by the article.

but will not fruit.

In the first paragraph is says "It can be grown as an ornamental, especially from the leafy tops but will not fruit". This is false, after 24 months or so a plant grown from a pineapple top will flower & during the following six months will produce a fruit. It might depend on the climate in which the plant is grown, but a plant grown from the top of a pineapple can produce a fruit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.164.27.108 (talk) 12:18, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 58.164.27.108, 15 August 2010

{{editsemiprotected}} In the first paragraph it states that a plant grown from the top of a pineapple fruit will not itself produce fruit, this is false. A plant grown from the top of a pineapple fruit will flower after about 24 months & produce a fruit during the following six months. http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/pineapple-growing.html

58.164.27.108 (talk) 12:23, 15 August 2010 (UTC)

 Done Also added another source that indicates a possibly-different timeframe for flowering/fruiting.

Shearonink (talk) 03:33, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from Creepyjoke, 17 August 2010

{{editsemiprotected}} In the pineapple wiki under the Storage and Transportation section it says the following: "Fresh pineapple is delicate and because they are chill-sensitive they are not refrigerated. They are transported with the crowns downwards."

I import MD2 pineapples primarily and other varieties and I can assure you that all pineapples are transported in refrigerated containers @ around 60.0F for any distance. The primary presentation used has the pineapples transported with the crown UP but I've seen other presentations that have them on their sides.

I would remove these lines completely.

Creepyjoke (talk) 17:02, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

 Done Welcome. It would be better to have a reference for this. I found [2] which talks about the effects of refrigerating below 59F and mentions the horizontal packing for transport, so I'll remove the current unsourced text. Thanks, Celestra (talk) 19:44, 17 August 2010 (UTC) pineapples are large!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!