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Nutritional benefits of pineapple


Pineapple, a tropical plant with edible multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries, named for resemblance to the pine cone, is the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae family. Wikipedia
Scientific nameAnanas comosus
RankSpecies





Nutritional benefits of pineapple
By Bosede Olusola-Obasa - Nigeria

*Packed with vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium
*Rich in fibre and calories
*Low in fat and cholesterol
*Prevents cough and colds
*Strengthens the bones (provides 73 per cent total body need for manganese)
*Keeps gums healthy
*Lowers risk of macular degeneration by as much as 36 per cent
*Alleviates arthritis
*Improves digestion



Pineapple

Morton, J. 1987. Pineapple. 

In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL.

Ananas comosus

The pineapple is the leading edible member of the family Bromeliaceae which embraces about 2,000 species, mostly epiphytic and many strikingly ornamental. Now known botanically as Ananas comosus Merr. (syns. A. sativus Schult. f., Ananassa sativa Lindl., Bromelia ananas L., B. comosa L.), the fruit has acquired few vernacular names. It is widely called pina by Spanish-speaking people, abacaxi in the Portuguese tongue, ananasby the Dutch and French and the people of former French and Dutch colonies; nanas in southern Asia and the East Indes. In China, it is po-lo-mah; sometimes in Jamaica, sweet pine; in Guatemala often merely "pine" .


spiny-leaved pineapple
Fig. 6: A spiny-leaved pineapple in the Supply garden, Homestead, Fla., 1946.
Description
The pineapple plant is a terrestrial herb 2 1/2 to 5 ft (.75-1.5 m) high with a spread of 3 to 4 ft (.9-1.2 m); a very short, stout stem and a rosette of waxy, straplike leaves, long-pointed, 20 to 72 in (50-180cm) 1ong; usually needle tipped and generally bearing sharp, upcurved spines on the margins. The leaves may be all green or variously striped with red, yellow or ivory down the middle or near the margins. At blooming time, the stem elongates and enlarges near the apex and puts forth a head of small purple or red flowers, each accompanied by a single red, yellowish or green bract. The stem continues to grow and acquires at its apex a compact tuft of stiff, short leaves called the "crown" or "top". Occasionally a plant may bear 2 or 3 heads, or as many as 12 fused together, instead of the normal one.
As individual fruits develop from the flowers they join together forming a cone shaped, compound, juicy, fleshy fruit to 12 in (30 cm) or more in height, with the stem serving as the fibrous but fairly succulent core. The tough, waxy rind, made up of hexagonal units, may be dark-green, yellow, orange-yellow or reddish when the fruit is ripe. The flesh ranges from nearly white to yellow. If the flowers are pollinated, small, hard seeds may be present, but generally one finds only traces of undeveloped seeds. Since hummingbirds are the principal pollinators, these birds are prohibited in Hawaii to avoid the development of undesired seeds. Offshoots, called "slips", emerge from the stem around the base of the fruit and shoots grow in the axils of the leaves. Suckers (aerial suckers) are shoots arising from the base of the plant at ground level; those proceeding later from the stolons beneath the soil are called basal suckers or "ratoons".

For more detailed information on Pineapples, click the links below.



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