The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant with edible multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries, also called pineapples,[2][3] and the most economically significant plant in the Bromeliaceae family.[4]

Pineapples may be cultivated from a crown cutting of the fruit,[2][5] possibly flowering in 20–24 months and fruiting in the following six months.[5][6] Pineapple does not ripen significantly post-harvest.[7]

Pineapples can be consumed fresh, cooked, juiced, and preserved. They are found in a wide array of cuisines. In addition to consumption, the pineapple leaves are used to produce the textile fiber piña in the Philippines, commonly used as the material for the men's Barong Tagalog and women's Baro't saya formal wear in the country. The fiber is also used as a component for wallpaper and other furnishings.[8

Etymology
Pineapple and its cross section.
A pineapple flower in Iriomote, Japan.

The word "pineapple" in English was first recorded to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees (now termed pine cones). When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit in the Americas, they called them "pineapples" (first referenced in 1664 for resemblance to the pine cone).[9][10]

In the scientific binomial Ananas comosus, ananas, the original name of the fruit, comes from the Tupi word nanas, meaning "excellent fruit",[11] as recorded by André Thevet in 1555, and comosus, "tufted", refers to the stem of the fruit. Other members of the Ananas genus are often called "pine", as well, in other languages. In Spanish, pineapples are called piña ("pine cone"), or ananá (ananás) (for example, the piña colada drink)