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
Kristine French Kristine French Kristine French is an Australian plant biologist who is a Professor at the University of Wollongong, where she has directed the Janet Cosh Herbarium since 1992. She is known for researching the ecology of weeds, studying urban ecology and "endangered species and forest ecology." French gained her B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Sydney in 1984. She earned her doctorate from Monash University in 1989. Her thesis is entitled "Fruit/bird interactions in wet sclerophyll forest in Australia: the influence of fruit characteristics and the role of birds as seed disposal agents". French is a professor at the Institute