- Garden's pineapple -
The Bromeliaceae family comprises over 50 genera and nearly 4,000 species. All are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, with the exception of a single species, Pitcairnia feliciana, discovered in Africa in 1937. Ornamental bromeliads represent a segment of economic importance for countries linked to the flower and ornamental plant market.
Family: Bromeliaceae
Scientific name: Ananas lucidus
Common name: Curauá - Ornamental Pineapple, Garden's Pineapple
Life Cycle: Perennial.
Origin: Brazil.
Size: It reaches 1.20 meters in height.
Ananas lucidus is a native plant, not endemic to Brazil, also distributed in other tropical countries in the American continent. In Brazil, it occurs in the North (Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Roraima), Northeast (Bahia, Ceará) and Southeast (São Paulo) regions.
It is a very rustic bromeliad, with very ornamental foliage and fruit. Due to its hardiness, the Garden's pineapple is widely used to delimit areas or flower beds that should not be invaded by people or animals. It can be planted alone, in compositions, in groups or as a border.
The inflorescence formed by an about 4 cm long and 3 cm broad spike, of hermaphrodite flowers surrounded by pink bracts; the spike carries on top a thick rosette of leaves which later on is surrounded by several smaller ones. The flowers have long petals ( about 15 mm and 3 mm broad), of a white colour at the base, and violet blue on the apex.
Adult plants flower spontaneously, at any time of the year; fruits usually appear about six months after the flowers bloom. The fruit has about 5 cm of diameter and 6-8 cm of height when ripe takes on a reddish color. Very fibrous, is not edible and usually contains few seeds, at times none. Its purpose is for ornamental use only.
They must be grown in bright places, with sunbathing for at least 4 hours a day. Ornamental pineapple appreciates temperatures above 15°C. Sunlight helps to produce the pink pigmentation in the leaves.
Very resistant, the Ornamental pineapple withstands the coldest months well, as long as it is protected from icy winds and frost. The plant grows all year round. However, during the Winter, development takes place at a slower pace, requiring less watering and fertilization only every eight weeks.
The plant has also other employments besides the ornamental one, it is in fact cultivated, since remote times, by the natives for getting fibres from the leaves as they are particularly flexible, resistant, and long lasting, utilized for fabricating ropes, tissues and several handicrafts.
In the recent years, this fibre has been utilized also in industrial applications, and a further increment is expected, in particular in the automotive industry for the production of bio-degradable materials in place of the fibreglass, as it is almost doubly resistant of same, to be employed in the internal cars’ fittings.
On Explore: January 26, 2023
- Garden's pineapple -
The Bromeliaceae family comprises over 50 genera and nearly 4,000 species. All are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, with the exception of a single species, Pitcairnia feliciana, discovered in Africa in 1937. Ornamental bromeliads represent a segment of economic importance for countries linked to the flower and ornamental plant market.
Family: Bromeliaceae
Scientific name: Ananas lucidus
Common name: Curauá - Ornamental Pineapple, Garden's Pineapple
Life Cycle: Perennial.
Origin: Brazil.
Size: It reaches 1.20 meters in height.
Ananas lucidus is a native plant, not endemic to Brazil, also distributed in other tropical countries in the American continent. In Brazil, it occurs in the North (Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Roraima), Northeast (Bahia, Ceará) and Southeast (São Paulo) regions.
It is a very rustic bromeliad, with very ornamental foliage and fruit. Due to its hardiness, the Garden's pineapple is widely used to delimit areas or flower beds that should not be invaded by people or animals. It can be planted alone, in compositions, in groups or as a border.
The inflorescence formed by an about 4 cm long and 3 cm broad spike, of hermaphrodite flowers surrounded by pink bracts; the spike carries on top a thick rosette of leaves which later on is surrounded by several smaller ones. The flowers have long petals ( about 15 mm and 3 mm broad), of a white colour at the base, and violet blue on the apex.
Adult plants flower spontaneously, at any time of the year; fruits usually appear about six months after the flowers bloom. The fruit has about 5 cm of diameter and 6-8 cm of height when ripe takes on a reddish color. Very fibrous, is not edible and usually contains few seeds, at times none. Its purpose is for ornamental use only.
They must be grown in bright places, with sunbathing for at least 4 hours a day. Ornamental pineapple appreciates temperatures above 15°C. Sunlight helps to produce the pink pigmentation in the leaves.
Very resistant, the Ornamental pineapple withstands the coldest months well, as long as it is protected from icy winds and frost. The plant grows all year round. However, during the Winter, development takes place at a slower pace, requiring less watering and fertilization only every eight weeks.
The plant has also other employments besides the ornamental one, it is in fact cultivated, since remote times, by the natives for getting fibres from the leaves as they are particularly flexible, resistant, and long lasting, utilized for fabricating ropes, tissues and several handicrafts.
In the recent years, this fibre has been utilized also in industrial applications, and a further increment is expected, in particular in the automotive industry for the production of bio-degradable materials in place of the fibreglass, as it is almost doubly resistant of same, to be employed in the internal cars’ fittings.
On Explore: January 26, 2023