Cocos nucifera
coconut palm
The Latin genus name Cocos comes from the 16th century Portuguese and Spanish cocos, which means “grinning face” because of the three holes found on the coconut’s shell. Indeed, many coconuts could well have grinned after witnessing the varied unsuccessful attempts at cracking their hard shells by those with inadequate tools. The coconut forms part of many peoples’ daily nourishment, especially in Southeast Asia, where people know well how to go about effectively tapping a coconut. It may be harvested either green for the water or ripe for the meat. Coconut palms average a yield of coconuts between 30 and 75 each year. Surrounding the inner seed is a husk consisting of a fiber called coir, which is made into rope, fishing nets, doormats, brushes, and potting medium for orchids. Coir is especially useful for rope and nets because of its natural resistance to salt water, which quickly breaks down lesser-quality fiber. The coconut water found in green coconuts is sterile until opened and has the right levels of sugars and salts to make it useful as a short-term IV solution. This was practiced during World War II for making emergency transfusions in the Pacific.
A legend exists of the so-called “coconut pearls,” which can supposedly be found in the meat of only one in several hundred thousand mature coconuts. While some accounts of these botanical oddities do exist, they are usually second-hand accounts and the existence of coconut pearls has never been conclusively confirmed. Other “coconut pearls” have turned out to be pearls from giant clams. So think twice before shelling out your hard earned savings for “the rarest botanical gem in the world.”
While you may climb up trees to get coconuts yourself, it seems like a much better idea to imitate the farmers in Thailand and Malaysia who train pig-tailed macaques to harvest coconuts. Schools actually exist specifically for this training and annual competitions are held to determine which macaque is the fastest coconut harvester. And no, I'm not kidding:
One of the most important uses of the coconut palm is the use of shell halves to imitate the sound of horse hooves, immortalized in the fantastic Monty Python scene of King Arthur “riding” through the countryside and the argument that ensues with castle guards:
Despite the hilarity of this example, coconut shells are actually still used in sound effects for more serious movies to create the sound of horses’ hoof beats.
During World War II, John F. Kennedy was commander of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109, which was destroyed after a collision with a Japanese warship. After a long swim to safety, Kennedy and the remainder of his crew survived for six days on coconuts until they were discovered by two native scouts, Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, who were dispatched in a canoe by Allied forces on a nearby island to look for survivors of the collision. Since Kennedy could not communicate with them, the natives suggested he inscribe a message on a coconut shell for them to take back to their English-speaking supervisors, since their canoe could not accommodate passengers. After they successfully transported the shell through hostile waters, a rescue mission successfully retrieved the survivors. This most famous of coconut shells was kept on Kennedy’s desk during his presidency.
Undoubtedly one of the most untapped (no pun originally intended) uses of the coconut is as a dog toy. Try not to be overwhelmed by the cuteness:
Coconut palms form the basis of industry for many tropical societies, especially in the Old World Tropics. Each coconut palm on the islands of Lakshadweep, India’s largest coconut producer, is owned by an individual who has exclusive rights to its products. A Conde Nast reporter tells a story of a crash into a coconut palm with her motorcycle and how concern about injury was the bystanders’ first interest – concern for injuries sustained by the coconut palm tree, that is. She was required to pay the owner of the tree the equivalent of $45 for the damage, and learned firsthand the importance of these trees to the people who depend upon them each day for their livelihoods.
Arguably the most hurricane-resistant palm, even with a maximum height of 80 ft., the coconut thrives in shoreline habitats with plenty of sun, sandy soil and temperatures always above freezing...you probably do, too!
For more information on the history of the coconut palm in Florida, please follow this link to our Diary of the Botanic Gardens at Kona Kai Resort blog: