Colours and shapes
Ananas – or the ornamental pineapple – is constructed incredibly cleverly. The funnel-shaped calyx is a perfect container for water. And the rosette of tough, pointed leaves creates a great system of channels to bring all the moisture to the heart of the rosette. The leaves can be grey-green, but also green with pink. And whilst the classic pineapple is yellow and green, the ornamental version is more dark pink. It’s a very easy plant – water it from time to time and you will be able to enjoy it for up to six months.
Origin
The Pineapple plant is the best-known member of the Bromeliad family. The ancestral version grows and flowers high in the rugged Cordilleras de los Andes mountains and deep in the warm jungles of Uruguay, where the plant can achieve a diameter of over two metres. Columbus was the person who introduced the Pineapple plant to Europe, by bringing an Ananas back to Spain from Guadeloupe more than 500 years ago. The name ‘Ananas’ comes from Tupi, the language of the Tupi Indians. 'Ananá' means something like ‘excellent scented fruit’. The ornamental pineapple is a smaller (inedible) version of the wild pineapple.
Symbolism
The Pineapple plant symbolises a cheerful welcome and a warm reception. That’s why you often see the plant over gateways, in a living or sculpted form. The pattern on the pineapple fruit features the Golden Ratio, a geometric formula in a spiral shape which is said to be ‘mot appealing to the eye’.
