| Pineapple - Ananas comosus | | | | made it a status symbol. The pineapple fruit |
| COMMON NAME | | | | symbolized hospitality and friendship in the colonies. |
| Pineapple | | | | Those who were able to present the exotic and |
| LATIN NAME | | | | expensive pineapple to their guests proved their high |
| Ananas comosus | | | | social class. Pineapples became so popular in colonial |
| FAMILY | | | | America that you could rent one for the day from a |
| Bromeliaceae | | | | confectioner. |
| PARTS USED | | | | A pineapple enzyme is used to tenderize meat. This |
| Fruit, leaf | | | | enzyme has been characterized as being so acidic |
| DESCRIPTION | | | | that it will remove the fingerprints from commercial |
| The pineapple plant is a perennial that grows about | | | | pineapple cutters after prolonged exposure. The leaf |
| two to four feet tall. The pineapple's reddish yellow fruit | | | | of some varieties is a source of piña fiber for |
| has a scale-like surface with a crown of stiff, spiky | | | | embroidery thread. |
| leaves. Pineapple is the only fruit with a stem that goes | | | | MEDICINAL USES |
| from the very top to the very bottom. | | | | Pineapples were used in traditional medicine for |
| HABITAT | | | | everything from jaundice to constipation. Sailors on |
| The pineapple is originally from South America but can | | | | early European explorations who had no fresh fruit on |
| now be found in Cuba, North America, Australia, South | | | | hand escaped scurvy by eating pineapples, which are |
| Africa and the Philippines. | | | | high in Vitamin C. Pineapple contains bromelain, an |
| FOLKLORE AND TRADITIONAL USES | | | | enzyme which can split proteins - Bromelain |
| Brazilian tribes consider pineapple very important and | | | | decreases bleeding time and reduces platelet |
| use pineapple as a staple food and in their | | | | aggregation. Bromelain is effective in killing parasites like |
| wine-making. Early European explorers took the it | | | | worms. |
| home and its unusual appearance and sweetness | | | | |