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

I have never seen a pineapple seed. Maybe they don't exist

I've never seen a pineapple seed either. Living in an area
where they grow pineapples extensively, I can tell you how
they propagate them here. After the pineapple is ripe and
has been harvested, they whack the top of them off and
collect the tops in a big pile. After the field has been
prepared, each top is then stuck through a hole in the
black sheeting (plastic? I've heard it's a special plastic
that degrades quickly, but could be of some other material)
that covers the fields. Don't know if it's the only way
to propagate them, or just the most efficient.

Doesn't answer your question about whether it's a fruit or
not though, does it?

Tracey

A "pineapple" is a multiple fruit (Coenocarpium). Its a bunch of individual
fruits crammed together into a single mass. Like many commercial seedless
fruit, they will often develop to maturity without pollination or producing
seed.


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 is indeed a fruit. People have the notion that anything with a seed
in it is a fruit, which is not exactly true. To be a fruit, it must come from
the ovary of a flower.

Toad

"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.

The pineapple (Ananas comosus) has no botanical varieties. The most widely
grown cultivar is 'Smooth Cayenne' because the leaves are usually completely
without spines on the margins. There are four recognized species in the
genus Ananas.

http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pineapple.html


B & J wrote in message
...
"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.

http://www.levins.com/pineapple.html - cute history
http://agrss.sherman.hawaii.edu/pineapple/pinegrow.htm - comprehensive
data

Ted Shoemaker wrote:
=

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


-- =

J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - commercial
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html

Is pineapple a fruit?

I once got a pineapple to bloom & set fruit indoors. What we call a pineapple
is an aggregate fruit, like a raspberry. The cultivated pineapple is seedless &
reproduced asexually, like cultivated bananas.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Gotcha, Iris!!!

An aggregate fruit is a cluster of small fruits arising from a single
flower.

A multiple fruit is a cluster of fruit arising from different flowers on the
same plant.

A pineapple is a multiple fruit, as also is an "Osage Orange" and "Bread
fruit".


Iris Cohen wrote in message
...
Is pineapple a fruit?

I once got a pineapple to bloom & set fruit indoors. What we call a
pineapple
is an aggregate fruit, like a raspberry. The cultivated pineapple is
seedless &
reproduced asexually, like cultivated bananas.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

(Ted Shoemaker) wrote in message . com...
Is pineapple a fruit?

This has been an informative discussion. Thanks, everybody.

Ted Shoemaker

To day, I ate an orange without seed. Then it was not a fruit? It tasted =
more or less the same as the one I ate 2
weeks ago. This one was a fruit since it had seeds in it. :-)

I feel silly. I feel as joking to night.

Fran=E7oise.

Ted Shoemaker wrote:

(Ted Shoemaker) wrote in message news:bc584b4d.=
...
Is pineapple a fruit?

I picked pineapple on Maui for 16 months as a youth. The pineapple crowns
(leafy tops) are twisted off, not broke off, in order to create a greater
surface area for the roots to take hold.
They are planted through plastic, but the plastic does not deteriorate that
fast...maybe 2-3 years. The crops are harvested a maximum of 3 times before
they are tilled up. The fruit gets too small after that. Planting pineapple
is a very back breaking experience. The whole time the planter is bent over
moving the dirt aside, then planting the crowns. The rows are anywhere from
50 ft to 500 ft, with 26 rows in a block. The rows are "humps" approx. 3 ft
wide, with approx. 1-2 ft between rows, for the pickers to have enough room
to walk.

The harvester has a boom that extends to the left, with two separate
conveyor belts for the fruit and crowns. Trucks back up to the front of the
harvester, and mechanically connect to it. The truck fills up, drives to the
processing plant, and another backs in.

The clothing that must be worn is heavy jeans, heavy cotton chaps, long
sleeved shirts, leather or heavy cotton gloves, and safety glasses. This is
due to the plants being very sharp at the tips of the leaves. Occasionally
there are plants that have spikes all down the leaves, which makes for a
very uncomfortable experiences if tripped upon. Being that the chaps have an
open area in the crotch area, sometimes the ends of the leaves poke you in
the pee-pee through your jeans. I developed Popeye forearms and very strong
legs after that experience. The leaves want to intertwine as they grow. The
first time a crop is harvested is the hardest. After that, the leaves stay
separated.

They also grow hybrid pineapple's. I've seen pina colada, pineapple-apple
(which actually has apple seeds in the fruit), strawberry-banana-pineapple,
and others. They don't sell these in the mainland. They are only sold to
high end resorts on the island. And be rest assured that the taste is
nothing you have tasted before. It actually tastes like it sounds.

Next time you purchase a whole pineapple, don't throw away the core.
Sprinkle a little salt on it and enjoy. Mmm... It'll make you jump back and
slap yo momma.

"Tracey" wrote in message
...
I have never seen a pineapple seed. Maybe they don't exist

I've never seen a pineapple seed either. Living in an area
where they grow pineapples extensively, I can tell you how
they propagate them here. After the pineapple is ripe and
has been harvested, they whack the top of them off and
collect the tops in a big pile. After the field has been
prepared, each top is then stuck through a hole in the
black sheeting (plastic? I've heard it's a special plastic
that degrades quickly, but could be of some other material)
that covers the fields. Don't know if it's the only way
to propagate them, or just the most efficient.

Doesn't answer your question about whether it's a fruit or
not though, does it?

Tracey

I picked pineapple on Maui for 16 months as a youth.

Well, all of my experience is from a distance away.
I had thought the tops were 'whacked off' because of
the smell. I figured the heavy pineapple odor could
only come from a large surface area. Of course, the
smell could have been coming from the plant right down
the road from the fields, too.

I've seen (from the comfort of my car) all that you've
talked about and I sure don't think any amount of money
would be enough for me to be out there doing that job.

As far as the pineapples go, there's a stand near us
that we buy from. $3, they cut it for us. Just basic
slices all around the sides and then slice it into
rounds, core and all. Yummy!

Tracey

Still waiting for you to tell your joke, Frenchie!

Why do you think a fruit needs to have seeds to be a fruit? Botanically, a
fruit is the structure that develops after the flowers fade, regardless of
whether they contain seeds or not.


Françoise wrote in message
...
To day, I ate an orange without seed. Then it was not a fruit? It tasted
more or less the same as the one I ate 2
weeks ago. This one was a fruit since it had seeds in it. :-)

I feel silly. I feel as joking to night.

Françoise.

Ted Shoemaker wrote:

(Ted Shoemaker) wrote in message
. com...
Is pineapple a fruit?

Umm... I hate to break up the party folks, but I have three pineapples
sitting in the other room under lights right now that were grown from seed.
Good ole Delmonte golden pineapple seeds The seeds look more or less like
fennel or caraway seeds,very small but not exactly "tiny". I gave my FIL 2
plants and kept three. His are doing better than mine but he actually has
time to mess around with them.

But then again, we have 10 or so baby saguaros that we are growing from seed
too. And they said it couldn't be done. In Ontario no less.:-)

Sally


"Cereoid+10+" wrote in message
...
Still waiting for you to tell your joke, Frenchie!

Why do you think a fruit needs to have seeds to be a fruit? Botanically, a
fruit is the structure that develops after the flowers fade, regardless of
whether they contain seeds or not.


Françoise wrote in message
...
To day, I ate an orange without seed. Then it was not a fruit? It tasted
more or less the same as the one I ate 2
weeks ago. This one was a fruit since it had seeds in it. :-)

I feel silly. I feel as joking to night.

Françoise.

Ted Shoemaker wrote:

(Ted Shoemaker) wrote in message
. com...
Is pineapple a fruit?