Real Pineapple, Or Crested Pineapple

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Video: Real Pineapple, Or Crested Pineapple

Video: Real Pineapple, Or Crested Pineapple
Video: How the Super Sweet White Sugarloaf Creamy Pineapple is Grown in Hawaii 2024, April
Real Pineapple, Or Crested Pineapple
Real Pineapple, Or Crested Pineapple
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Real pineapple, or Crested pineapple (lat. Ananas comosus) - a herbaceous perennial succulent plant of the Pineapple genus (Latin Ananas), which is listed in the ranks of the Bromeliad family (Latin Bromeliaceae). This is the only species of the Pineapple genus that is cultivated by humans for its vitamin and juicy fruit pulp, which has a peculiar taste that cannot be confused with any other fruit on Earth. Born in the tropics of South America, Pineapple quickly gained popularity, and today it is grown in many parts of the world with tropical climates. In temperate areas, people grow Pineapples as houseplants.

What's in your name

The Latin name of the genus is based on the word "nanas", which was the name of the plant and its fruit by the American Indians before the arrival of Europeans to their fertile lands. With this word, the Indians expressed their delight for the plant, calling it "excellent fruits" - this is how the word "nanas" is translated from the language of the Indian tribe Tupi.

The plant owes its species epithet “comosus” to its prickly tuft, which rises first above the inflorescence and then above the inflorescence, giving the plant a chance to continue life after eating the fruit. After all, this tuft of short leaves can become the basis for a new plant, if it is properly rooted.

The Latin official name of this species is translated into Russian in several ways, which become synonyms for the name of one plant: Crested Pineapple, Large-crested Pineapple, Real Pineapple.

The plant also has synonymous names in Latin, for example: "Ananas comosa", "Bromelia ananas" and others.

Description

Ananas comosus is a tropical plant cultivated by humans for thousands of years for its vitamin fruits with sweet-sour yellow pulp and juice. The cultivated species for many years of selective reproduction has lost the ability to produce seeds, and reproduces by humans only vegetatively.

Botanists suggest that this species was obtained from wild plants, the fruits of which contain seeds, through the gradual domestication of the plant by the Indians of the Tupi Guarani tribe.

Real pineapple is a tropical herbaceous perennial up to 1-2 meters high. The stem, round in cross-section, with a diameter of 8 centimeters, grows up to 50 centimeters in length and has the shape of a sports stick.

The stem is surrounded by a dense rosette of long, sharp leaves with prickly edges. The length of individual leaves can reach one meter with a leaf width of 4 centimeters. The leaves are tough, but juicy, since they accumulate moisture in their tissues for an unfavorable period of life.

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At the top of the stem is an inflorescence formed by miniature purple or red flowers. Each flower has its own protector in the form of a fleshy bracts of green, yellowish or red color. The flower itself is composed of three sepals, three petals, six stamens and a three-chambered ovary.

The seedless succulent fruit is a compound fruit formed by the fusion of small fruits from 100-200 flowers. The average fruit length is up to 30 centimeters. The fruit is topped with 20-30 rigid leaf bracts.

The skin of the fruit is waxy and tough, green in color, acquiring a yellow, orange-yellow or reddish color when ripe. Juicy sweet and sour pulp of the fruit can be from almost white to yellow.

Sometimes it is possible to discern traces of undeveloped seeds in the pulp.

Real Pineapple reproduces vegetatively. New shoots appear from the stem around the base of the fruit, and "stem shoots" grow in the leaf axils. In addition, at ground level, "earthen shoots" are born from the base of the plant.

Usage

Among tropical fruits, Pineapple ranks 3rd in the importance of its cultivation, second only to bananas and citrus fruits. For its sweet and sour pulp and juice, pineapple is highly prized among fruits. Its pulp is rich in vitamins A and C, potassium and manganese.

It is used fresh for the production of juice, pineapple wine, compotes.

Healing abilities

The Pineapple pulp contains the enzyme "bromelain", which improves the digestion process; relieves swelling of soft tissues; in case of injuries, facilitating the inflammatory process and faster wound healing.

Pineapple prevents blood clotting and the growth of malignant cells.

Some people have an allergic reaction in the form of a rash or hives. It is better for such people to use canned pineapple rather than fresh pineapple.

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