Pineapple Day

 

Indigenous to South America, the pineapple has been cultivated for centuries, as far back as 1200 BC in Peru. It carries deep rooted cultural significance as well, symbolizing warmth and welcome.  In the Caribbean, it represents friendship.

Christopher Columbus was the first European to encounter the fruit, and he brought it back to Spain, calling it piña de Indes, pine of the Indians.

It was later documented in 1568, when French explorer Andrè Thevet wrote of the Tupinamba people, living near modern day Rio de Janeiro, who cultivated and ate Hoyriri. 

The natives must have recognized the health benefits - packed with Vitamin C and bromelain (which aids in digestion and reduces inflammation) as well as manganese.

In the Philippines, the long leaves' fibers were used to weave fabrics that were a luxury export.

Pineapples are pollinated primarily by hummingbirds, with some pollinated at night by bats.  Night is also when the pineapple carries out CAM photosynthesis - fixing carbon dioxide and storing it as malate, which is then released during the day to aid in photosynthesis.

The top of the pineapple can be planted in soil and a new plant will grow.