Physical description and cultivation
The plant has 30 to 40 stiff succulent leaves closely spaced in a rosette on a thick fleshy stem. In commercial varieties about 15 to 20 months after planting, a determinate inflorescence forms on a flower stalk 100–150 mm (4–6 inches) in length. The originally separate light purple flowers, together with their bracts, each attached to a central axis core, become fleshy and fuse to form the pineapple fruit, which ripens five to six months after flowering begins. Fruits of commercial varieties range from 1 to 2 kg (2 to 4 pounds) in weight.

When pineapple is cultivated on modern plantations, an asphalt-impregnated mulch paper is usually first laid on well-tilled soil in rows, with the edges covered to anchor the strips of paper. The pineapple propagating pieces are inserted through the paper into the soil, so spaced as to give a population of 15,000–20,000 plants per acre.

History
The earliest written references to pineapple are by Christopher Columbus, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, and Sir Walter Raleigh, who found pineapple growing in the West Indies, where it was used for food and wine making.

The Portuguese were apparently responsible for early dissemination of the pineapple. They introduced it to Saint Helena shortly after they discovered that island in 1502. Soon after, they carried it to Africa and, by about 1550, to India. Before the end of the 16th century, cultivation of the plant had spread over most of the tropical areas of the world, including some of the islands of the South Pacific. Major modern growers of pineapple include Costa Rica, Brazil, China, India, and Thailand.

Pineapples regenerate! You can plant pineapple leaves to grow a new plant.
Pineapples contain the bromelain enzyme which can break down proteins, so you can use them to tenderize meat.
Hawaii produces about 1/3 of all pineapples in the world.
Pineapples are a cluster of hundreds of fruitlets.
Pineapples take about 18-20 months to become ready to harvest.
Pineapples are native to South America before Christopher Columbus discovered them in 1493.
Pineapple is the only edible fruit of its kind, the Bromeliads.
One pineapple plant can produce one pineapple at a time.
Pineapples ripen faster upside down.

Raw pineapple pulp is 86% water, 13% carbohydrates, 0.5% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). In a 100-gram reference amount, raw pineapple supplies 209 kilojoules (50 kilocalories) of food energy, and is a rich source of manganese (40% Daily Value, DV) and vitamin C (53% DV), but otherwise contains no micronutrients in significant amounts (table).