PINEAPPLE

n.

Fruit-bearing plant ( Ananas comosus ) of the family Bromeliaceae, native to the New World tropics and subtropics but introduced elsewhere.

Pineapple is served fresh where available and in canned form worldwide. It is a key ingredient in Polynesian cuisine. Like agave and some yuccas , the plant has a rosette of 30–40 stiff, succulent leaves on a thick, fleshy stem. A determinate inflorescence forms 15–20 months after planting. After fertilization, the many lavender flowers fuse and become fleshy to form the 2–4 lb (1–2 kg) fruit. Ripening takes 5–6 months.

Pineapple ( Ananas comosus )

By courtesy of Dole Company