Sunday Special--Ananas for the whole World-Pineapple for the English!

The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant with an edible multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries, also called pineapples and the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae

The word "pineapple" in English was first recorded to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees (now termed pine cones). When European explorers encountered this tropical fruit in the Americas, they called them "pineapples" (first referenced in 1664, for resemblance to pine cones).
In the scientific binomial Ananas comosus, ananas, the original name of the fruit, comes from the Tupi word nanas, meaning "excellent fruit",as recorded by André Thevet in 1555, and comosus, "tufted", refers to the stem of the fruit.

The plant is indigenous to South America and is said to originate from the area between southern Brazil and Paraguay;  The natives of southern Brazil and Paraguay spread the pineapple throughout South America, and it eventually reached the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico, where it was cultivated by the Mayas and the Aztecs. Columbus encountered the pineapple in 1493 on the leeward island of Guadeloupe. He called it piña de Indes, meaning "pine of the Indians", and brought it back with him to Spain, thus making the pineapple the first bromeliad to be introduced by humans outside of the New World. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines, Hawaii , Zimbabwe, and Guam. The fruit is said to have been first introduced in Hawaii when a Spanish ship brought it there in the 1500s. The Portuguese took the fruit from Brazil and introduced it into India by 1550.

                         

The word for “pineapple” is usually pretty close to “ananas” in most languages, except English.

Pineapple plants have beautiful flowers which can vary from lavender, through light purple to red. When creating its fruit, it usually produces up to 200 flowers, although some large-fruited cultivars can exceed this.

Once it flowers, the individual fruits of the flowers join together to create what is commonly referred to as a pineapple. So the pineapple fruit itself is actually a bunch of “fruitlets” fused together. The tough, waxy rind may be dark green, yellow, orange-yellow or reddish when the fruit is ripe. The flesh ranges from nearly white to yellow. In size the fruits are up to 30 cm (12 in) long and weigh 0.45 to 4.5 kilograms (1 to 10 pounds) or more.

The top of a pineapple, after cleaning and drying, can be planted in soil and a new plant will grow.
Pineapples have exceptional juiciness and a vibrant tropical flavor that balances the tastes of sweet and tart.

Pineapple Cut

Madagascar, one of the world's poorest nations, is led by president Hery Rajaonarimampianina, who infuriated his people by insisting that the economy was doing well and that naysayers couldn't "provide evidence that the country was getting poorer."

Shortly afterward, he appeared at an independence day ceremony with his wife Voahangy Rajaonarimampianina, who sported a pineapple-adorned Doce & Gabana dress valued at $7,745.

Thus was born the Madagascar Pineapple Meme. Malagasy social media has become filled with pointed political jokes and cartoons that use the pineapple as a symbol of the president's denial and corruption.

Queensland's iconic tourist attraction,Big Pine Apple

Pineapples are international symbols of welcome and are a symbolic way of saying “you are perfect” when presented to someone. Gate posts and door frames often have pineapples to signal a welcome.


Searched,Compiled and Illustrated by Tejinder Kamboj