Pineapple (Ananassa vulgaris)
Original title: Ananás (Ananassa vulgaris)
Describes the two pineapple varieties grown in Madeira: a smooth-leaved one grown in glasshouses and a spiny-leaved one fruiting outdoors.
Two varieties of pineapple exist in Madeira, one with leaves almost free of spines and the other with leaves bearing strong spines along the margins. The former is grown only in a few glasshouses and is identical to the Azorean pineapple, known in England as ‘Smooth-leaved Cayenne’. The latter flowers and fruits well in the open air in various parts of the island, although its fruits, or soroses, are smaller and more acid than those of the other variety.
The spiny-leaved pineapple, which is said to have been imported from Africa but which also exists in Brazil and other countries, is found at Ribeira Brava, Porto da Cruz, Funchal, etc. Its leaves are long and often spotted with red, and its spikes are oblong-cylindrical, borne on a peduncle or stem furnished with short, reddish leaves. The perianth has 6 divisions: the three outer ones are red and short, and the three inner ones lilac, erect, narrow and a little shorter than the bracts.
The pineapple generally fruits from November to January and flowers in March and April.
In this article
Place
Places mentioned · 05
Abroad
- Africa
Reputed origin of the spiny-leaved pineapple.
Africa is referred to as a destination of Madeiran expeditions, soldiers and exiled convicts, and as an export market for Madeiran butter. The explorers Capelo and Ivens crossed the continent, and North Africa is noted as the origin of the date palm.
- Brazil
Country where the spiny variety also occurs.
Brazil is recorded in the Elucidário as a chief destination of Madeiran emigrants, including several clergy and writers. It was also a market for Madeira wine and brandy and a maker of wickerwork from Madeiran osiers. It was linked to Madeira by the 1874 telegraph cable and is the native country of the araçá.
- Funchal
Place where the spiny-leaved pineapple grows.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Porto da Cruz
Machico. Place where the spiny-leaved pineapple grows.
North-coast parish created in 1577 and noted for good-quality wines. It was transferred from Santana to Machico municipality in 1852 and was the seat of a capitania-mor. It was also a fishing port where some sperm whales were landed.
- Ribeira Brava
Place where the spiny-leaved pineapple grows.
Ribeira Brava is one of Madeira's oldest parishes, named after its violent stream, with a town, port and quay. The Elucidário covers its collegiate church and its paintings, its Franciscan convent and chapels, and its São Pedro festival with a boat and sword dance. It also records riots against the metric system and deaths when troops fired on the people during the 1884 election.