Encyclopedia of Bromeliads

Genus Notes:

Gard. Dict. abr. Ed. 4: [unpaged]. 28 Jan 1754.
Neo Type Bromelia ananas L., Sp. pl.: 285. 1 Mai 1753 = Bromelia comosa L., Herb. amb. 21. 11 Mai 1754, designated by L.B. Smith (in N. Amer. Fl. 19: 214. 27 Dec 1938). Ananas comosus (L.) Merrill, Interpr. Herb. amboin. 133. 1 Nov 1917. Miller used polynomials instead of the binomial nomenclature initiated only the year before by Linnaeus. Consequently, although the genus was validly published, no binomials were established. A polynomial is a descriptive sentence of perhaps four-ten words that describe a taxon in diagnosis format; e.g. “Ananas aculeatus fructu conico, carne aurea”. To avoid the tautonym ‘Ananas ananas’, the next validly published name for this taxon is used, Bromelia comosa. This name is recognized as a neotype instead of lectotype since Miller was unaware of the name Bromelia comosa. Currently recognized in the subfam. Bromelioideae.

Ananas as interpreted by Gaertner (Fruct. sem. pl. 1: 30. Dec 1788), and the orthographic variant ‘Ananassa’ (cited from Lindl., Bot. Reg. 13: ad t. 1068. 1 Jun 1827) are not separate generic names as suggested by ‘Index nominum genericorum’ (1979). Accordingly, their recognition is not warranted, and each should be removed from any listing of generic names.

In 1493, the Carib American Indians of the Caribbean introduced the pineapple to the first European explorer of that part of the New World, Christóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus). The first documentation of the fruit in European literature is in the book ‘La Historia de las Indias’ (1535-1546) by Gonzalo Hernandez Oviedo (Beer, Fam. Bromel.: 208. 1856). Oviedo described and figured the ‘Piñas’ or ‘Pomme de pin’ from Santo Domingo, Hispaniola [Dominican Republic]. André Thevet in his ‘Les singularités de la France antarctique, autrement nommée Amerique’ (1559) described the ‘Nanas’ from Brazil, while Jean de Lery in his ‘Histoire d’un voyage fait en la terre du Brésil’ (1580) is the first to attribute the name ‘Ananas’ to the plant we know today as the pineapple, Ananas comosus. Therefore, the generic name of the pineapple derives from a language of the indigenous peoples of Brazil. Since then, the pineapple has become a ubiquitous symbol of hospitality, and one of the most popular exotic fruits.
(from Grant & Zijlstra 1998)