Pineapple,Ananas comosus, is called hala kahiki in Hawaiian which literally means foreign hala. It comes tropical America. The fruit of the hala,Pandanus tectorius,is quite similar in appearance. Many tourists have fallen to the tour guides' line "look, there is a pineapple tree" when pointing out a hala tree. It has been a commercial crop in Hawaii for many years and many plantation workers toiled in the fields of prickly plants to harvest the fruits. Photo by P. Millen.

Back to Learning Objective 09