Notes on the Origin, History, and Genetic Nature 
of the Cayenne Pineapple^ 
J. L. Collins^ 
Although plants and fruits of the pine- 
apple had been carried from America to 
Europe a number of times following their dis- 
covery by Columbus in 1493, it was almost 
100 years before they were successfully grown 
in Europe. They were first grown to fruiting 
in Holland about 1690 and in England some 
30 years later, following the development of 
artificial heating of glasshouses. 
Thereafter, a great rivalry and enthusiasm 
developed in the growing of pineapples by 
the gardeners of the large estates in England 
and on the continent. They imported varie- 
ties from America, exchanged varieties among 
themselves, and in some instances developed 
new varieties by growing the seeds which were 
occasionally found in their fruits or were ob- 
tained from the West Indies. As a conse- 
quence of this general interest in the growing 
of pineapples, the horticultural journals of 
the times frequently carried articles or notices 
concerning the culture of this fruit. 
Like a number of important agricultural 
crops, the Cayenne variety of the pineapple, 
Ananas comosus (L.) Merr., appeared upon the 
horticultural scene with no definite record of 
the manner or the place of its origin. The first 
reference in the literature to the Cayenne 
variety appears to be the short notice carried 
in the Gardeners Chronicle (England) of March 
6, 1841, under the column heading of "'For- 
eign Correspondence,” as follows: 
^Published with the approval of the Director as 
Miscellaneous Paper No. 48 of the Pineapple Research 
Institute of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii. Manuscript 
received August 23, 1950. 
^Department of Genetics, Pineapple Research Insti- 
tute of Hawaii. 
Paris, Feb. 4, 1841. As information is con- 
tinually demanded by horticulturists regard- 
ing pines, perhaps a few words as to the 
varieties in request in Paris and the mode of 
culture may not be unacceptable. The Pot- 
ager, or Royal Kitchen Garden Versailles has 
the merit of producing this and other fruits in 
the greatest perfection. . . . The pinery con- 
sists of a vast number of pits, succession and 
fruiting houses, the whole of which are heated 
with hot water; it contains about 2000 plants 
among which are fine specimens of Queens, 
Cayenne Lisse and Espineux, Black Jamaica 
. . . in all about 40 varieties. Only four kinds 
are considered desirable for general cultiva- 
tion; of these, however, more than 1000 
plants are annually fruited, namely 700 
Queens and 300 Cayennes, Endville, and 
Providence. The Cayenne, both smooth and 
prickly, is of an excellent flavor and weight 
on the average from 9 to 12 pounds. 
This article continues to record the names 
of the three principal growers, or nurserymen, 
for the French market, one each in Paris, 
Versailles, and Meridon, who list Cayenne 
plants along with some other varieties. 
From this date, 1841, we trace the history 
of the Cayenne variety and map its distribu- 
tion in geography and time. 
In this first reference to the Cayenne variety, 
mention is made of the smooth-leaved and 
spiny-leaved forms. Genetic studies in Ha- 
waii (Collins, 1936: 467) have shown that the 
smooth-leaved type infrequently produces 
spiny leaves; if we can judge from this modern 
behavior, then we can assume that the original 
Cayenne variety had smooth-edged leaves 
and also produced mutations giving rise to 
the spiny-leaved form as bud sports. 
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