Where and how pineapples grow in nature: countries, photos

Many people think that these exotic fruits grow on a palm tree. In fact, they do not grow at all on a tree or on a bush, but on the ground. It is an amazing tropical fruit whose taste is familiar to everyone. This is pineapple, which is one of the most common among exotic fruits. His taste is familiar to many.

The article presents a story about how pineapple grows in nature (see photo in the article), what conditions are necessary for its growth, and what features it has.

general information

Even in the pre-Columbian era, the inhabitants of the tropics grew and used pineapples for food. In addition to edible fruits, stems and hard spiky leaves of plants were also used. From this raw material, a fairly strong fiber was obtained, used for the production of ropes, clothes, mats and fishing nets.

The assertion that pineapples grow on palm trees is not at all true. This can be found in more detail later in the article. But first, imagine a short history of the discovery of this wonderful plant.

Short story

Ananas comosus is the plant closest to the modern species. It was discovered at the beginning of the last century in the Parana River Valley (South America).

Most likely, long ago, it was from these regions that the inhabitants of local tribes, who learned to eat these juicy fruits, spread them throughout the South American continent to Central America and the Caribbean.

A well-known fact is that this plant was cultivated by the Mayan and Aztecs. The discovery of an exotic tropical fruit by Europeans took place in 1493, during the period of Columbus’s travel, who noticed this interesting plant on the island of Guadeloupe. It was with the light hand of the great Spanish navigator that this fruit got its name - Pina de Indes.

The Portuguese, after the discovery by the Spaniards of an unusual fruit in Hawaii, also found a similar, no less interesting plant in Brazil. And after several decades, the first plantings of pineapples began to appear in African and Indian colonies. Tropical fruit, quickly gaining popularity, retained the name that it received from the indigenous people of South America. "Nanas" in translation from the language of the Indians means "magnificent fruit." And in 1555, the prefix comosus appeared in the name (translated as crested).

Where does pineapple grow?

The countries that are the birthplace of pineapple are Paraguay and Brazil (South America). This plant prefers a tropical climate. It can grow even in dry periods due to the ability of leaf cells to store moisture. Most pineapples are grown in Thailand, Brazil, the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, Australia, India and Guinea. It is possible to grow pineapple in Russia, but for this it is necessary to create conditions for this plant (in greenhouses) that are close to natural.

Pineapples are grown on large plantations, and only the best varieties are planted. In nature, this plant grows alone, it can be found only in individual instances. In addition, in the wild, wild varieties are found with harder fruits even in a mature state. They are small in size and not very sweet. Large varieties are bred by humans.

Where pineapple grows (see photo below) in the wild, it is almost a weed that grows without any maintenance. Therefore, its taste is far from human-grown pineapples.

Today, this fruit is grown in almost all countries where the tropical climate prevails - these are Australia, Ghana, Mexico, India and others. The vast fields where pineapples are planted in long ridges look amazingly beautiful.

Description

The opinion that pineapple grows on a tree is erroneous. This is a perennial herbaceous land plant that grows in the form of a small bush. It has hard and spiky leaves. The fruits are located on the trunk. The peculiarity of the leaves is not only that they are prickly, but also in the unusual property that they possess. They, as noted above, have special cells whose tissue is able to accumulate moisture in themselves during rains. This allows the plant to survive in the driest periods.

Pineapple height depends on growing conditions and variety. It can be 0.6-1.5 meters. The stem of the plant is quite short. It is densely covered with elongated, stiff foliage.

An adult plant has a rosette formed of 30 or more fleshy, pointed leaves with a concave shape. Their length is 20-100 cm. One of the characteristics of the plant is that on the stem thickening during growth, the leaves are arranged in a spiral. Some varieties and subspecies of pineapple have spines along the edge of the leaves - curved and sharp.

Pineapple subspecies are both with uniformly colored leaves, and with variegated ones. However, all representatives of this genus of foliage have a thick waxy coating, which makes it almost gray or gray.

How do pineapples grow?

In appearance, this exotic plant is more like a shrub with elongated and dense leaves. In the very first year, the stem thickens and the green mass grows, which consists of narrow and fleshy succulent leaves interwoven with each other (length up to 0.7 meters) with sharp thorns on the edges.

A year later, a pineapple inflorescence begins to appear in the form of an ear with a large number of flowers, and bisexual.

The way the pineapple grows (photo presented in the article) can be compared with the growth of white cabbage. Both of them are small bushes with thick leaves. Both form a fetus in the center of the outlet. There are people who mistakenly believe that pineapples with cabbage are related. In fact, pineapples belong to the bromeliad family, and they are the only edible species in this family.

Bloom

Peduncle, reaching a height of up to 60 cm, grows from the point of growth of leaves. It is covered with flowers, as noted above, of both sexes. It is because of this that this plant is self-pollinating. The duration of flowering is from about 14 to 20 days.

Flowers come in reddish and purple hues, which also depends on the variety of the plant. In each of them there is a berry, pouring juice.

Fruit

How do pineapples (fruits) grow? After the end of the flowering period, a very powerful fruit is formed on the bush of the plant. From it, the fetus develops further. Moreover, a crest or palm tree appears on the top of each fruit, in the same shape as the bush itself, but smaller. To grow a new fruit, this tip is cut and planted. However, pineapples are not always self-pollinating. There are subspecies having only male or only female flowers. In this case, the plant is pollinated by bees and other insects, seeds are formed in the fruits.

Wild fruits are usually small in size, and almost all of them have many seeds that different animals like to feast on.

After the first fruit has ripened, the side shoots that form from the leaf sinuses begin to grow intensively in the pineapple. In the future, these shoots are used to propagate pineapples in a cultivated form. When the lateral shoots are removed, the mother plant blooms again after some time and gives birth to the fruit again. Plants are completely torn out after receiving the second crop, and new ones are planted in their place.

Seeds

Where does pineapple grow? On the ground, on the trunk of a small herbaceous plant. Its seeds are located immediately under the skin of the fruit, in places of the so-called “eyes”, which are analogous to potato “eyes”. Scientifically, they are called axillary kidneys. Seeds in shape resemble apple seeds, only in size they are smaller. From such small seeds, a new pineapple can grow. Reproduction by seeds is the second method after propagation by shoots. It should be noted that self-pollinating varieties have no seeds, so they can reproduce in only one way - with the help of a crest.

Fruits grown by pollination have not very good taste and the price of such fruits is lower. Therefore, when growing pineapples on an industrial scale, pollination of plants is avoided in every possible way.

Growing a house

How to grow pineapple at home? In order to grow it, first of all, you need to get a well-ripened fruit (just in case two). When buying, you should pay attention to the leaves. They should be solid and saturated in green. The skin of the fetus should be golden.

Preparation of material for planting: leaves collected in a bunch along with the stem are twisted. You can simply cut off the top, separating it from the pulp.

Growing pineapple is a long process, and therefore requires patience.

A cut of the lower leaves should be made so that 3 cm remains from the cuttings.
The trimmed workpiece is placed in a well-ventilated and dry room for drying (3-4 days).
After drying the tops, the workpiece is lowered 4-5 cm in water in a transparent container for rooting. Be sure to protect the plant from overdrying and drafts.
Water in the tank should be changed every two to three days.
Observe constant temperature conditions.
After the first roots appear, pineapple can be planted in the ground. The diameter of the planting pot should match the size of the top of the seedling.
There must be openings in the container. The bottom of the pot should be laid out with a layer of expanded clay (about 2-3 cm). After planting, pineapple should be abundantly watered and the pot with the plant should be placed in a well-lit place.
The planted plant should be watered often (ideally moisturizing every other day).
To ensure the natural conditions of growth, the seedlings should be covered with a transparent container.

So how do pineapples grow at home? Perfect if you follow all the rules for care. After 3-4 years, tasty and aromatic fruits will appear.

Pineapple Care Tips

It is best to water with settled water at room temperature, otherwise the development of pineapple may slow down. You can add about 3 drops of lemon juice to the water.
It is important to remember that pineapple should be transplanted annually under growing conditions in a house, and the landing capacity should increase in size. The transplant is carried out by transplanting plants with an earthen lump.
You should feed the plant with mineral fertilizers.