"Ted Shoemaker" wrote in message
om...
Is pineapple a fruit?

Yeah, that sounds like a stupid question. Humor me.

I have never seen a pineapple seed. Maybe they don't exist. Some
bromeliads reproduce asexually. Maybe pineapples are among them.

If
pineapples don't have seeds,
and if
fruit is the part of the plant that contains the seeds,
then
is a pineapple a fruit?

Thank you for your time.

Ted Shoemaker

Pineapple originated in South America, where there are still wild varieties
growing.
It was spread by Indians up through South, Central America to West Indies
before the Columbus arrived. In 1493 Columbus found the fruit on the island
of Guadeloupe and carried back to Spain and it was spread around the world
on sailing hips that carried it for protection against scurvy. The Spanish
introduced it into the Asia and may have taken it to Hawaii and Guam in the
16th Century. http://www.sarisegar.com/pineapple_fruit.htm

If I remember correctly, there was a movement afoot by "birders" to
introduce hummingbirds into Hawaii back in the fifties, which was opposed by
the pineapple growers because hummers are the primary source of pineapple
pollination, which in turn results in seeds in pineapples, a anathema to
selling pineapples. Commercial pineapples are unpolllinated - hence no
seeds.

John.