The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant with an edible
fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuries. The introduction of the pineapple to Europe in the 17th century made it a significant cultural icon of luxury. Since the 1820s, pineapple has been commercially grown in greenhouses and many tropical plantations.
Pineapples grow as a small shrub; the individual flowers of the unpollinated plant fuse to form a multiple
fruit. The plant is normally propagated from the offset produced at the top of the
fruit, or from a side shoot, and typically mature within a year.
The pineapple is a herbaceous perennial, which grows to
1.0 to
1.5 m (3
ft 3 in to
4 ft 11 in) tall, although sometimes it can be taller. The plant has a
short, stocky stem with tough, waxy leaves. When creating its
fruit, it usually produces up to 200 flowers, although some large-fruited cultivars can exceed this. Once it flowers, the individual fruits of the flowers join together to create a multiple
fruit. After the first
fruit is produced, side shoots (called 'suckers' by commercial growers) are produced in the
leaf axils of the main stem. These suckers may be removed for propagation, or left to produce additional fruits on the original plant.