Pineapples - the fruit that is neither a pine nor an apple. In reality, pineapples are a type of bromeliad. The genus to which they belong, Ananas, is comprised of something like 7 different species, all of which are native to Central and South America. Considering we rarely encounter these plants outside of a grocery store, it is no wonder then that many are surprised to realize how pineapples grow.

Photo by H. Zell licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The fruit itself is not the entire plant. It is made up of many fruits that fuse together after flowering. The flowers themselves are quite lovely and originate from the center of the hexagonal units that make up the tough rind. The whole inflorescence arises from the center of a large rosette of leaves. Only when you see the entire plant does the bromeliad affinity become apparent. Like all other bromeliads, pineapples undergo vegetative reproduction as well. Small offshoots called "pups" arise from the base of the plant and the axils of the leaves. These can take root and grow into clones of the parent plant.

In the wild, pineapples require pollination to set seed. This is undesirable in cultivation because pollination means lots of seeds that consumers don't want to contend with. Because of this, pineapples are gassed with ethylene, the simplest of plant hormones. Ethylene causes the fruits to artificially ripen without being pollinated. In this way, no ovules mature into seeds.

Photo by hiroo yamagata licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The dirty little secret about pineapple farming is that it is done at great environmental cost. The dominant producer of pineapples is Costa Rica. Because of the humid, tropical climate, insects and fungi flourish. In order to ensure that production is maximized, pineapple farmers dump thousands of gallons of pesticides and herbicides onto their crops. These farms are largely void of all other lifeforms save for endless hectares of pineapples. This, however, is not a story unique to pineapple farming. The same could be said for all other forms of monoculture farming.

Photo Credits: Fractalux, H. Zell, and hiyori13 - Wikimedia Commons