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April 10, 2009 : Ananas comosus
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Plant Family / Families: Bromeliaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.
Institution: Montréal Botanical Garden
Name Location: Montréal, Quebec, Canada
The Tropical Food Plants Conservatory at Montréal Botanical Garden is newly-renovated, and is one of the highlights of a visit to the many MBG glasshouses. Most of the other glasshouses had plant displays with little interpretation. By contrast, the Tropical Food Plants Conservatory had an excellent mix of plants, interpretative signage, and accompanying displays. Well worth the visit!
Pineapple was previously featured on BPotD a few years ago: Ananas comosus (worth revisiting for an interesting link about "pressure and the keratolytic effect of bromelain").
Wild relatives of the pineapple are native to southern Brazil and Paraguay. It was cultivated and spread throughout South and Central America by indigenous peoples prior to European arrival. Within 150 years, it was introduced into cultivation in many tropical and subtropical regions around the world as the fruit was valuable in the prevention of scurvy.
Cal's Plant of the Week featured Ananas comosus in March of 2001, and it includes a photograph of a plant in flower (you may want to compare that flowering bromeliad with Tillandsia lindenii from a few days ago).
Wikipedia has a fairly detailed account on pineapples with a good set of references for additional reading.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at April 10, 2009 11:38 AM
Comments
...or read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Posted by: lorax at April 10, 2009 1:53 PM
No, they didn't have the cultivar labeled, unfortunately.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at April 10, 2009 2:30 PM
Oh, I love pineapples! They are both sweet & tangy at the same time.
They are available all year in California. But ship from so far away.
Posted by: Cambree at April 10, 2009 2:37 PM
looks organo-metallic in your exposure. Very nice! Almost alien, such enzymes......
Posted by: Quin at April 10, 2009 2:44 PM
How your pineapple photo made me smile. About 50 years ago when I was about 17, my parents decided our family would vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii for a couple weeks. Because of our tiny budget we could afford only to camp at state and county parks. So we packed sleeping bags, pup tents, basic cooking gear, bathing suits and extra clothes, and rented a small car to fully tour the island. At the grocery stores we were amazed to find inexpensive, amazingly ripe, sweet-smelling pineapples. We continually replenished our supply of pineapples. Home was never like this! All was well for the first 4 or 5 days. Then one morning I rolled out of my tent to find everyone staring at me. It turned out the wonderful excess of pineapple (acid?) had caused my mouth to swell to an enormous size. Needless to say for the remainder of the trip I was allowed only to watch everyone else enjoy the pineapple.
Posted by: Helen at April 10, 2009 3:22 PM
Super photo - 'organo-metallic' is a great description! "Helen's" post was interesting - I had no idea pineapple could cause such a thing.
Posted by: Annie Morgan at April 10, 2009 6:06 PM
Great photo! I love pineapples and get them as often as I can. Sometimes I get lucky and they're always sweet.
Posted by: Essie at April 10, 2009 7:06 PM
Pineapple,is one of the easiest tropical food plants to grow. I grow 10-15 pineapple plants continuously in my Colorado greenhouse. Thanks for the notification of the Tropical Food Conservatory in Montreal. The next time in Montreal, I will have to visit it. - Millet
Posted by: Millet at April 11, 2009 6:56 PM
thank you - the juice makes lovely drinks
ice cream and upside down cake
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at April 13, 2009 8:35 AM
Excellent photo! May I use it on my site if I link back to you?
Posted by: Pineapple facts at June 25, 2010 6:13 AM
No, yours seems to be a commercial site. You'd have to email me to discuss permission to use and fees.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin at June 25, 2010 9:04 AM
My favorite fruit!!!
Posted by: Desmond at July 9, 2010 3:42 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Do you know which cultivar that is, Daniel?