Ananas monstrosus (Carrière) L.B.Sm.[as Ananas monstrosus (Carriere) L. B. Smith]

Observations: —Note. As demonstrated by Camargo, Ananas monstrosus is perfectly typical pineapple except for the complete lack of a foliaceous coma on the inflorescence. This lack is probably a primitive character.
Local name. Cabeca de onca.

On the Validity of Ananas monstrosus Freddy Leal in J. Brom. soc. 40(6): 246-9. 1990
In Flora Neotropica, Bromelioideae, (Bromeliaceae) Smith and Downs (1979) considered the genus Ananas to be composed of eight valid and legitimate species: (1 ) A. monstrosus; (2) A. ananassoides; (3) A. nanus; (4) A. parguazensis; (5) A. lucidus; (6) A. bracteatus; (7) A. fritzmuelleri; (8) A. comosus.
In the key to the species of Ananas (Smith & Downs, 1979), A. monstrosus is identified as: "Foliaceous coma completely lacking at apex of syncarp." Literature review and the study of live material, introduced doubts into the validity of A. monstrosus as a good species (Leal, 1987).
Camargo (1956) published a preliminary note in which he classified material found close to Tefe, Amazonas State, Brazil, locally called "cabeza de onca," as Ananas lyman-smithii Camargo, a new species dedicated to Dr. Lyman B. Smith. According to the description it is identical to the common pineapple but the syncarp lacks the crown, the leaf spines are oriented towards its apex, slips are present at the base of the syncarp, and it is without stolons. At that time, Camargo did not complete the diagnosis because the flowers were never seen, but he stated, "independent of the new species petal type, its taxonomic rank will be of an Ananas species." Also, he considered this new species as an intermediate from between Pseudananas and Ananas, "the new species of Ananas lyman-smithii, even without crown, represents a more evolved botanical form, close to the table pineapple, because its fruit is voluminous and of a good taste." Samples of this species were introduced to different experimental stations and to the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden where the type species is supposed to be deposited. Since this paper, no diagnosis has been found. Thus, Camargo presented a nomen nudum, invalid according to Article 36 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, 1988.
Smith in his Notes on Bromeliaceae XVII (1961), and with references to Brazil, proposed a new combination: Ananas monstrosus (Carriere) L. B. Smith comb. nov. instead of Ananas lyman-smithii, which went into synonymy. According to that author, the species is based on Ananassa monstrosa of E. A. Carriere (1870), without Latin diagnosis, and using Camargo's arguments, he considered it the most primitive species of the genus.
According to Carriere, "Ananassa monstrosa is a simple form of Ananas sativus with all its characteristics but the terminal crown," and he never had the intention to publish a new species. The use of the monstrosa epiphet came from Carriere's arguments that "everything that does not conform with the rules established by science is an anomaly or a monstrosity."
In his description, Carriere pointed out that: "by its general aspect and growth development, Ananassa monstrosa is nothing special, its growth is normal, and in regard to the fruit, it is regular, nothing abnormal except that the traditional crown tends to disappear."
Ananas monstrosa was obtained by J.E. Lafont, an amateur horticulturist from Bordeaux, by seed of a fruit of Ananas coming from Bahia that weighed 4 kilograms. Even though it was a potted plant and poor care was given (as it suffered from water stress), its fruits were perfectly developed reaching 14 cm in diameter and 18 cm in height; its quality was perfect.
In methodically searching for pineapples and relatives in Venezuela since 1978 (Leal, Garcia and Cabot 1986), many samples of Ananas comosus without crown were found. These discoveries caused some doubts about the validity of Ananas monstrosus.
A sample from the variety "Negrita" (Leal and Antoni 1981) without crown was found in a pineapple plantation close to Valera, Trujillo State (back cover) with only that plant and its fruit, and using the Smith and Downs' key, it would be concluded that it was a specimen of Ananas monstrosus, without considering the presence of crown alterations of variations in this population. Slips from that plant were taken and planted at Maracay, Aragua State. Fifteen months later these plants produced normal fruits with crowns; that is, the crownless character did not hold, as it should have as a specimen of A. monstrosus.
Crownless examples of `Smooth Cayenne' and `Valera' (Figs. 2 and 3) are occasionally found, as in most A. comosus varieties, showing that the crownless type is not a stable characteristic.
Dewald (1987) conducted electrophoretic studies in Ananas comosus and related species, with material mostly from Venezuela, and by the distribution of isoenzymatic bands showed that A. monstrosus is a simple crown mutation of A. comosus that occurs in many cultivars.
From all the preceding discussion, it is concluded that:
l ) the crownless fruit characteristic is not stable, and could be present occasionally in most Ananas comosus varieties.
2) the crownless characteristic being variable, with a low percentage incidence, it could not characterize a species as was proposed.
3) the species name of Ananas monstrosus is illegitimate because it was neither proposed nor described by Carriere.
4) the species name of Ananas lyman-smithii being a nomen nudum is also illegitimate, according to Article 36 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
5) the species names Ananas monstrosus and Ananas lyman-smithii used to identify samples exactly like the common pineapple but crownless, must go into the synonymy of Ananas comosus, because they are nothing but varients of it, as Carriere pointed out in 1870. It is considered to occur as occasional anomalous forms in different A. comosus varieties, thus, A. monstrosus must go into synonymity.

Edited from : Smith & Downs 1979. Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae) in Flora Neotropica.