Plant Identification Learning Module:
Fruits & Nuts
Pineapple (Ananas comosus)
Pineapple plants can reach five feet tall and four feet wide. The leaves are waxy, strap-shaped, and two to six feet in length. They usually have a sharp point on the tip of the leaf and spines along the margins of the leaves. The leaves may be green or variegated in color. The pineapple fruit grows on a stalk in the center of the rosette of leaves. The pineapple is a multiple fruit. (i.e. Fruits formed when a cluster of flowers produces numerous fruit that mature into a single mass.) The pineapple is oval to cylindrical in shape, topped by a leafy crown. The skin is golden yellow at maturity and has numerous scales. The flesh is whitish-yellow, juicy and sweet, around a central fibrous core. Seeds are absent. Pineapples are grown in warmer areas of Florida and can be grown in containers and as ornamentals throughout Florida.