Ananas comosus

Ever wonder how a pineapple flowers?

One of the many fascinating things at Baltimore's Rawlings Conservatory in Druid Hill Park is getting a glimpse of how fruit actually grows.

The Ananas cosmosus, or pineapple, is one of the many fruits now blooming in the Tropical Room.

This exotic plant is part of the Bromeliad family and native to Central and South America. 

Pineapples have a small stem that forms a rosette of 30 to 40 long sword-like leaves that can grow to 70 inches in length.

The plant will grow a stalk from its center and produce small purple and red flowers.

These flowers develop into berries that fuse together and form a syncarp, a multiple fleshy fruit similar to a raspberry.

Photo credit: Michael Lemmon