Editing Pineapple (section)

== Description ==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 220
| image1            = PineApple - Ananas comosus - starting stage.jpg
| caption1          = Pineapple in the starting stage
| image2            = Ananas bracteatus Striatus 0zz.jpg
| caption2          = Pineapple [[inflorescence]]
| image3            = Flowering Pineapple Sept 4 2011.jpg
| caption3          = A young pineapple in flower
| image4            = Ananas comosus-pineapple flowers - കൈതച്ചക്ക.jpg
| caption4          = Pineapple flowers close-up
}}

The pineapple is a herbaceous [[perennial]], which grows to {{convert|1 to 1.5|m|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}} tall on average, 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 [[cultivar]]s 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.<ref name="PWG" /> Commercially, suckers that appear around the base are cultivated. It has 30 or more narrow, fleshy, trough-shaped leaves that are {{convert|30 to 100|cm|ft|frac=2|abbr=on}} long, surrounding a thick [[plant stem|stem]]; the leaves have sharp spines along the margins. In the first year of growth, the axis lengthens and thickens, bearing numerous leaves in close spirals. After 12 to 20 months, the stem grows into a spike-like [[inflorescence]] up to {{convert|15|cm|0|abbr=on}} long with over 100 spirally arranged, trimerous flowers, each subtended by a bract.

In the wild, pineapples are pollinated primarily by [[hummingbird]]s.<ref name="Morton 1987" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stahl |first1=JM |last2=Nepi |first2=M |last3=Galetto |first3=L |last4=Guimarães |first4=E |last5=Machado |first5=SR |year=2012 |title=Functional aspects of floral nectar secretion of Ananas ananassoides, an ornithophilous bromeliad from the Brazilian savanna |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=109 |issue=7 |pages=1243–1252 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcs053 |pmc=3359915 |pmid=22455992}}</ref> Certain wild pineapples are [[forage]]d and pollinated at night by [[bat]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World |vauthors=Aziz SA, Olival KJ, Bumrungsri S, Richards GC, Racey PA |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319252209 |veditors=Voigt C, Kingston T |pages=377–426 |chapter=The Conflict Between Pteropodid Bats and Fruit Growers: Species, Legislation and Mitigation |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-25220-9_13 |s2cid=111056244 }}</ref> Under cultivation, because seed development diminishes fruit quality, pollination is performed by hand, and seeds are retained only for [[plant breeding|breeding]].<ref name="Morton 1987" /> In [[Hawaii]], where pineapples were cultivated and [[cannery|canned]] industrially throughout the 20th century,<ref name="HortScience" /> importation of hummingbirds was prohibited.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/AR-71P.pdf |title=List of prohibited animals |date=28 November 2006 |publisher=Government of Hawaii, Department of Agriculture |access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref>

The ovaries develop into [[Berry (botany)|berries]], which coalesce into a large, compact, multiple fruit. The fruit of a pineapple is usually arranged in two interlocking [[Helix|helices]], often with 8 in one direction and 13 in the other, each being a [[Fibonacci number#Nature|Fibonacci number]].<ref>{{cite book|title=An Incomplete Education|last1=Jones|first1=J.|last2=Wilson|first2=W|publisher=Ballantine|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7394-7582-9|page=544|chapter=Chapter 11: Science}}</ref>

The pineapple carries out [[Crassulacean acid metabolism|CAM photosynthesis]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ananas/|title=Pineapple – The Plant That Ate Hawai'i|last=Gibson|first=Arthur C.|website=UCLA|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304012552/http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Ananas/|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> fixing carbon dioxide at night and storing it as the acid [[malate]], then releasing it during the day aiding photosynthesis.
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