Where Does Pineapple Grow? A Detailed Look at the Pineapple's Growing Environment

Pineapples have now begun to hit the market in large quantities. Looking at those golden pineapples, have you ever wondered where pineapples actually grow? In our daily lives, the pineapple is a fruit we could not be more familiar with, yet if someone suddenly asks where pineapples grow, very few people would know the answer. Many people think pineapples grow on trees, but in fact the pineapple is a herbaceous plant that grows on the ground.

The pineapple is called "wangli" or "wanglai" in Minnan dialect, known as "wangli" or "wanglai" in the Minnan region, called "fengli" in Taiwan, China, "huangli" in Singapore and Malaysia, and "boluo" in the mainland and Hong Kong, China. The pineapple is a tropical fruit native to the Amazon River basin region of Brazil and Paraguay in South America. It was introduced to China from Brazil in the 16th century. There are more than 70 varieties, and it is one of the four famous fruits of Lingnan. It has now spread throughout the entire tropical region.

The pineapple has a short stem and numerous leaves arranged in a rosette, sword-shaped, 40-90 cm long and 4-7 cm wide, with a tapering tip, entire or with sharp teeth, green on the upper surface and pinkish-green on the underside, with the margins and tips often tinged brownish-red; the leaves growing at the top of the inflorescence are smaller and often red. The inflorescence emerges from the center of the leaf rosette, shaped like a pine cone, 6-8 cm long, enlarging when fruiting; the bracts are green at the base and pale red on the upper half, triangular-ovate; the sepals are broadly ovate, fleshy, tinged red at the tip, about 1 cm long; the petals are oblong-elliptic with pointed tips, about 2 cm long, purple-red on the upper part and white on the lower part. The multiple fruit is fleshy, more than 15 cm long. The flowering period runs from summer to winter.

The pineapple is widely distributed between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn and is one of the world's important fruits. It originated in Central and South America, was introduced to China in the 16th century, and was already being cultivated by the 17th century. Today more than 80 countries and regions around the world grow it as an economic crop, with the main producing areas concentrated in countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, South Africa and the United States. China is one of the world's top ten pineapple-producing countries, with production mainly distributed in tropical provinces such as Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan.