Pineapple (now termed pine cones). When European explorers encountered this tropical fruit in the Americas, they called them "pineapples" (first referenced in 1664, for resemblance to pine cones). In the scientific binomial "Ananas comosus", "ananas", the original name of the fruit, comes from the Tupi word "nanas", meaning "excellent fruit", as recorded by André Thevet in 1555, and "comosus", "tufted", refers to the stem of the fruit. Other members of the genus "Ananas" are often called pine, as well, in other languages. The pineapple is a herbaceous perennial, which grows to tall, although sometimes it can be taller. In appearance, the
Boletellus ananas following an extended period of rain and high humidity. Some varieties of "B. ananas" from southeastern North America, Costa Rica, Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua, and Guyana have been noted to fruit on tree trunks, although terrestrial fruiting has been reported in Malaysia and Central America. Due to the typically elevated fruiting habit and occurrence on dead wood, the ectomycorrhizal status of "B. ananas" has been debated; in the protolog Murrill noted "it always occurs either as a wound parasite on pine trunks or about the base of living pine trees." All collections have been made in association with ectotrophic host trees