Ananas comosus, is an herbaceous biennial or perennial plant in the family Bromeliaceae grown for its edible fruit. The pineappleplant has a short stout stem and a rosette of sword-shaped leaves with needle-like tips. As individual fruits develop from the flowers they join together forming a cone shaped, compound, juicy, fleshy fruit to 12 in (30 cm) or more in height, with the stem serving as the fibrous but fairly succulent core. The tough, waxy rind, made up of hexagonal units, may be dark-green, yellow, orange-yellow or reddish when the fruit is ripe. The flesh ranges from nearly white to yellow.