pineapple

pineapple
/puy"nap'euhl/, n.
1. the edible, juicy, collective fruit of a tropical, bromeliaceous plant, Ananas comosus, that develops from a spike or head of flowers and is surmounted by a crown of leaves.
2. the plant itself, having a short stem and rigid, spiny-margined, recurved leaves.
3. Mil. Slang. a fragmentation hand grenade.
[1350-1400 for earlier sense; 1655-65 for def. 1; ME pinappel pine cone; see PINE1, APPLE]

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Fruit-bearing plant (Ananas comosus) of the family Bromeliaceae, native to the New World tropics and subtropics but introduced elsewhere.

Pineapple is served fresh where available and in canned form worldwide. It is a key ingredient in Polynesian cuisine. Like agave and some yuccas, the plant has a rosette of 30–40 stiff, succulent leaves on a thick, fleshy stem. A determinate inflorescence forms 15–20 months after planting. After fertilization, the many lavender flowers fuse and become fleshy to form the 2–4 lb (1–2 kg) fruit. Ripening takes 5–6 months.

Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

By courtesy of Dole Company

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plant
 (Ananas comosus), fruit-bearing plant of the family Bromeliaceae, native to tropical and subtropical America but introduced elsewhere. The pineapple plant resembles the agave or some yuccas in general appearance. It has from 30 to 40 stiff, succulent leaves closely spaced in a rosette on a thick, fleshy stem. With commercial varieties, a determinate inflorescence forms about 15 to 20 months after planting on a flower stalk 100–150 mm (4–6 inches) in length. The originally separate light purple flowers, together with their bracts, each attached to a central axis core, become fleshy and fuse to form the pineapple fruit, which ripens five to six months after flowering begins. Fruits of commercial varieties range from 1 to 2 kg (2 to 4 pounds) in weight. The earliest written references to pineapple are by Columbus, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, and Sir Walter Raleigh, who found pineapple growing in the West Indies, where it was used for food and wine making.

      The Portuguese were apparently responsible for early dissemination of the pineapple. They introduced it to Saint Helena shortly after they discovered that island in 1502. Soon after, they carried it to Africa and, by about 1550, to India. Before the end of the 16th century, cultivation of the plant had spread over most of the tropical areas of the world, including some of the islands of the South Pacific.

      When pineapple is cultivated on modern plantations, an asphalt-impregnated mulch paper is usually first laid on well-tilled soil in rows, with the edges covered to anchor the strips of paper. The pineapple propagating pieces are inserted through the paper into the soil, so spaced as to give a population of 15,000–20,000 plants per acre. The pineapple has become a characteristic ingredient in the meat, vegetable, fish, and rice dishes of what is loosely termed Polynesian cuisine, a blend of various Oriental styles of cooking. The fruit is eaten fresh where available and in canned form worldwide. In the United States and in Europe it is sometimes used as a pastry filling or in baked desserts.

      Total world production of pineapples ordinarily averages about 8,300,000 metric tons annually, of which an estimated 20 percent is produced in Thailand, which during the 1970s replaced the former leading producer, the Hawaiian Islands. Other areas of substantial production include the Philippines, China, Brazil, Mexico, Côte d'Ivoire, India, and Taiwan.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • pineapple — [pīn′ap΄əl] n. [ME pinappel, pine cone (see PINE1 & APPLE): mod. sense from shape of the fruit] 1. a juicy, edible tropical fruit somewhat resembling a pine cone: it consists of the fleshy inflorescence of a collective fruit developed from a… …   English World dictionary

  • pineapple — (n.) late 14c., pine cone, from PINE (Cf. pine) (n.) + APPLE (Cf. apple). The reference to the fruit of the tropical plant (from resemblance of shape) is first recorded 1660s, and pine cone emerged 1690s to replace pineapple in its original sense …   Etymology dictionary

  • Pineapple — Pine ap ple, n. (Bot.) A tropical plant ({Ananassa sativa}); also, its fruit; so called from the resemblance of the latter, in shape and external appearance, to the cone of the pine tree. Its origin is unknown, though conjectured to be American.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pineapple —   [ paɪnæpl, englisch] der, (s)/ s, die Ananas …   Universal-Lexikon

  • pineapple — ► NOUN ▪ a large juicy tropical fruit consisting of edible yellow flesh surrounded by a tough segmented skin and topped with a tuft of leaves. ORIGIN originally denoting a pine cone: from PINE(Cf. ↑pine) + APPLE(Cf. ↑appley) …   English terms dictionary

  • Pineapple — Taxobox name = Pineapple image width = 240px image caption = A pineapple, on its parent plant regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Liliopsida ordo = Poales familia = Bromeliaceae subfamilia = Bromelioideae genus = Ananas species = A …   Wikipedia

  • Pineapple — Le Pineapple est une variante du poker dont le déroulement rappelle celui du Texas hold em. Pineapple signifie « ananas » en anglais. Sommaire 1 Célébrité 2 Déroulement d un coup 3 Variantes …   Wikipédia en Français

  • pineapple — pine|ap|ple [ˈpaınæpəl] n [U and C] [Date: 1600 1700; Origin: pineapple pinecone (14 18 centuries)] a large yellow brown tropical fruit or its sweet juicy yellow flesh ▪ pineapple chunks ▪ pineapple juice …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • pineapple — get the rough end of the pineapple Get a raw deal, be treated badly Sally got the sack? She really got the rough end of the pineapple! The force of the phrase derives partly from the fact that either end of a pineapple is rough , although the end …   Australian idioms

  • pineapple — UK [ˈpaɪnˌæp(ə)l] / US noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms pineapple : singular pineapple plural pineapples a large fruit that is yellow and juicy inside and has a thick yellow brown skin with sharp points on it • get the rough end of the… …   English dictionary

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