University of Florida Plant Information Pineapple Growing in the Florida Home Landscape

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Scientific Name: Ananas comosus

Common Names: pineapple and ananas in English, piña in Spanish, nanas in Javanese and Malay, apangdan in Tagalog (Filipino), and yaannat, sapparot, or bonat in Thai

Family: Bromeliaceae

Related Species: bromiliads, Spanish moss, and tillandsia

Origin: Central and South America and the Caribbean

Distribution: Grown throughout tropical and warm subtropical areas of the world.

History: Pineapple has apparently been cultivated by indigenous people of the tropical Americas and the Caribbean Region for thousands of years. New World explorers then distributed pineapple during the 1500s to 1700s to new areas including Europe, Africa, and Asia. The commercial export trade began during early 19th century from the West Indies. This led to further commercial development in the Caribbean during the mid-19th century. However, with the improvement in refrigerated sea transportation by the end of the 19th century, production shifted to Hawaii, Asia, and Africa. In the US, Puerto Rico and Hawaii have moderately large and important industries. Pineapples are not grown commercially in Florida but are common dooryard yard plants in warm locations throughout the state. The first recorded introduction of pineapple into Florida was in 1860.