Pineapple, ( Ananas comosus ), fruit-bearing plant of the family Bromeliaceae, native to tropical and subtropical America but introduced elsewhere. Pineapple is an herbaceous perennial plant, 1–1.5 meters tall, with 30 or more trough-shaped and pointed leaves, 30–100 cm long, surrounding a thick stem. Pineapples are the only bromeliad fruit in widespread cultivation. The pineapple is a multiple fruit , meaning it is formed from a cluster of flowers (called an inflorescence) growing on a catkin, with each flower on the catkin producing a fruit and the entire cluster maturing into a single mass—the pineapple. The fruitlets of a pineapple are arranged in two interlocking spirals, eight spirals in one direction, thirteen in the other; each being a Fibonacci number. This is one of many examples of Fibonacci numbers appearing in nature. The natural (or most common) pollinator of the pineapple is the hummingbird. Pollination is required for seed formation; the presence of seeds negatively affects the quality of the fruit. In Hawaii, where pineapple is cultivated on an agricultural scale, importation of hummingbirds is prohibited for this reason. Certain bat-pollinated wild pineapples do the exact opposite of most flowers by opening their flowers at night and closing them during the day; this protects them from weevils, which are most active during daylight hours. Wild pineapples which are pollinated by bats open their flowers at night and closing them during the day because….

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Pineapple, (Ananas comosus), fruit-bearing plant of the family Bromeliaceae, native to tropical and subtropical America but introduced elsewhere. Pineapple is an herbaceous perennial plant, 1–1.5 meters tall, with 30 or more trough-shaped and pointed leaves, 30–100 cm long, surrounding a thick stem.

Pineapples are the only bromeliad fruit in widespread cultivation. The pineapple is a multiple fruit, meaning it is formed from a cluster of flowers (called an inflorescence) growing on a catkin, with each flower on the catkin producing a fruit and the entire cluster maturing into a single mass—the pineapple. The fruitlets of a pineapple are arranged in two interlocking spirals, eight spirals in one direction, thirteen in the other; each being a Fibonacci number. This is one of many examples of Fibonacci numbers appearing in nature.

The natural (or most common) pollinator of the pineapple is the hummingbird. Pollination is required for seed formation; the presence of seeds negatively affects the quality of the fruit. In Hawaii, where pineapple is cultivated on an agricultural scale, importation of hummingbirds is prohibited for this reason.

Certain bat-pollinated wild pineapples do the exact opposite of most flowers by opening their flowers at night and closing them during the day; this protects them from weevils, which are most active during daylight hours.

Wild pineapples which are pollinated by bats open their flowers at night and closing them during the day because….