Pineapple plant with fruit. The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is an evergreen perennial native to South America. Its short stem is surrounded by a rosette of long narrow leaves and topped by a dense cone- like inflorescence of flowers with a crown of smaller leaves on top. Individual fruits fuse to form a fleshy multiple fruit up to 30cm long. It is thought to have originated in the Parana- Paraguay river basin, from where it was spread by native tribes. It was under widespread cultivation by the time Europeans arrived in America near the end of the 15th century. Photographed at Los Cedros Reserve, Ecuador.