Origin: South and Central America

Etymology: In the 17th century the English gave it the name "pineapple," an old word for pinecone, which it resembles with its bumpy diamond-shaped pattern.

Bromeliaceae family

A tropical fruit with yellow flesh and a prickly peel with a diamond-shaped pattern.

Pineapple originated in Paraguay and southern Brazil. It seems to have been domesticated thousands of years ago by the Tupi-Guarani Indians who introduced it into all of South and Central America.

In 1790 pineapple was introduced to Hawaii, but it was not until the 20th century that this American state would become one of the biggest pineapple exporters in the world.