Cocos nucifera
L.
Coconut
(c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Douglas Goldman
(c) Caitlyn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Caitlyn
(c) Santiago Mailhos, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Santiago Mailhos
What to Eat
Edible parts: Nuts, Sap, Cabbage, Nuts milk, Apple, Palm heart, Flowers
The coconut is an exceptionally versatile food plant. The seed can be eaten raw or used in a wide range of cooked dishes, and is often dried and shredded as a flavouring in cakes, curries, and similar preparations. Coconut milk or cream, made by pressing freshly grated seed mixed with water, is a traditional ingredient in many African and Asian foods and bakery products. The flesh inside a half-ripe seed is gelatinous and clear, eaten as a delicacy raw or cooked. An edible oil extracted from the seed is widely used in cooking and in making margarines, shortening, filled milk, ice cream, and confectionery. It is traditionally extracted by grating the kernel, macerating it with water, and boiling the mixture so the oil floats to the surface and can be skimmed off, though most commercial oil is obtained by pressing the kernel. The liquid inside unripe fruits makes a refreshing drink that remains cool even in hot tropical conditions. The inflorescence can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable. A sugary sap obtained by tapping or cutting the stalks of young flower bunches can be fermented into an alcoholic beverage. The apical bud is edible raw, though harvesting it kills the trunk as the palm cannot produce side branches. The roots can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute. The pith of the stem is made into a bread, added to soups, or pickled.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. Mainly in coastal areas but occasionally up to 1000 m in the tropics. In Fiji coconut palms rarely fruit above 400 m altitude. Temperatures of 27°-32°C are best with a daily range of 5-7°C. They need a minimum temperature of over 18°C to bear fruit. They need over 1000 mm of rain/year preferably 1500 mm. Soils need to be well drained. It requires plenty of sunlight. Sunlight of 1,800 hours per year gives good growth. It is salt tolerant. It can tolerate soils with pH between 5-8. In Nepal plants grow to 500 m altitude. Coconuts are normally confined to within 26° of the equator. It suits hardiness zones 12. In Yunnan.
Africa, Amazon, American Samoa, Andamans, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bougainville, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Caroline Islands, Central Africa, Central America, Chad, Chile, China, Chuuk, Cocos Island, Colombia, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, FSM, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guam, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Nuie, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific*, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Rotuma, Sahel, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tobago, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Torres Strait, Trinidad, Turks & Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, UAE, USA, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, West Timor, Yap, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A palm with an unbranched trunk. The trunk has ring-like leaf scars along it. At the base it is swollen and surrounded by a mass of roots. They grow to about 25 m tall. Dwarf varieties have been produced. The fronds are 2-6 m long. They are divided along the stalk into strap shaped leaflets. The leaflets are 60-90 cm long. They are narrow and tapering. Clusters of large fruit develop beneath the fronds. Male and female flowers are separate on the one stalk. Female flowers are near the base. Flowers are cream. The flowers are covered by boat shaped bracts. About 10-12 fruit/stalk is a good crop. Leaves are up to 5 m long. Fruit can be 25 cm across. The fruit are fibrous. The hard shell inside is filled with coconut milk and the white copra layer.
Nutrition Score: 48/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| flesh dried | 12.2 | 2429 | 581 | 6.6 | — | — | — | — |
| Sap | 10.3 | 1421 | 340 | — | — | — | — | — |
| milk | 84.9 | 1004 | 240 | 3.7 | — | 8 | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| apple | 84 | 310 | 74 | 1.3 | 0 | 5 | 0.7 | — |
| flesh | 80.9 | 119 | 28 | 1.1 | — | — | 0.2 | 0.2 |
How to Grow
Plants succeed in moist tropical climates where temperatures never fall below 10c, the average annual rainfall is 1,500mm or more and the driest month has 25mm or more rain. The coconut palm thrives in a wide range of soils, from coarse sand to clay, so long as the soils have adequate drainage and aeration. Requires a well-drained soil with a high water table. Plants grow well in full sun, even when small. Plants can tolerate at least some maritime exposure with salt spray and somewhat saline soil conditions. Coconut palms are halophytic and tolerate salt in the soil well. Plants are intolerant of drought. Coconut can grow in soils with a wide range of pH but grows best at pH 5.5 - 7. Coconut palm is one of the most widely grown tree crops in the tropical countries. Its growth characteristics are ideal for small production and also for combining with other crops. The crown morphology and the relatively wide spacing facilitate the planting of a wide spectrum of field crops in coconut plantations. It has therefore been intercropped with cereals (cassava, sweet potatoes, yams) or fruits (bananas, passion fruit, pineapples and ground nuts) in many countries. Very occasionally a small pearl-like concretion, or 'coconut pearl', is found in the cavity of the nut. Generally about the size of a canary's egg or even that of a cherry, they are white or bluish white in colour with a pearl-like lustre and harder in texture than a pearl. Made almost entirely of a form of lime or calcium carbonate, they are greatly prized and often used in jewellery. The tall varieties reproduce by cross-pollination. Male flowers open first, producing pollen for about 2 weeks. Female flowers are not usually receptive until about 3 weeks after the opening of the inflorescence, making cross-pollination the usual pattern. Reproduction in dwarf varieties is generally through self-pollination. Female flowers are receptive about a week after the male flowers open, both ending at about the same time. Tall palms tend to be slow maturing, flowering 6 - 10 years after planting and with a life-span of 80 - 100 years. Dwarf palms begin bearing in their third year and have a productive life of 30 - 35(-40) years. The trees flower and fruit all year round. A new inflorescence is produced every month, whilst the fruit takes a year to mature.
Propagation: Fresh seed germinates readily at 27–30°c. The seed has no dormancy and growth of the embryo and seedling is continuous; germination may begin while the fruits are still attached to the palm. For propagation, nuts are collected from selected mother palms or special seed gardens. Tissue culture is a popular method of vegetative propagation for producing large numbers of plants.
Medicinal Uses
The coconut is widely used in traditional medicine across many regions. The seed oil is cytotoxic, emetic, emollient, hypotensive, and purgative. It is rubbed onto stiff joints and used to treat rheumatism and back pain, and applied as an ointment to keep skin smooth and soft. Mixed with turmeric, it is used to treat sick newborn infants and women who have just given birth. To reposition a baby from a breech to a normal position in the womb, the abdomen is massaged with coconut oil. Coconut milk is diuretic and is used to treat fish poisoning. Juice from a green coconut is given to women experiencing difficult pregnancies, and fruit juice is taken to treat kidney problems. The root is used to treat stomach-ache and blood in the urine; boiled together with Ruellia tuberosa root, it is used for bladder ailments and as an aphrodisiac. In Fiji, weakness after childbirth is treated with liquid extracted from the stem. Juice from the midrib at the lower base of the leaf is used to treat maternal postpartum illness. In New Guinea, parts of the plant are used to treat sores and scabies. A poultice made from the apical bud is applied externally to treat ulcers. The plant is said to have vermicide properties. The dry, spongy kernel is used to stop haemorrhaging. In the Solomon Islands, parts of the plant are used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery.
Other Uses
The fibre around the seeds is widely used in making peat-free composts as a substitute for peat. Burnt husks produce a potash used to fertilize the trees, and the husks also serve as a mulch for moisture conservation and weed suppression in the dry season. An oil from the seed, which contains fatty alcohol and glycerine, is used in making soaps, detergents, cosmetics, candles, and pharmaceuticals, and to a lesser extent as a lubricant. The oil can also substitute for diesel in electric generating plants and motor vehicles, though this is only economical when other fuel prices are high. Leaves are woven into roofing and thatching material for hut walls, and into mats and baskets. Leaflet midribs are used as brooms, and the root may be used as a toothbrush. The fibrous husk material, known as coir, yields three types of fibre: mat or yarn fibre used in making mats, bristle fibre used for brush making, and mattress fibre used in upholstery and mattress stuffing. Coir can also be made into ropes and cordage. The hard woody shell around the seed is fashioned into cups, bowls, buttons, combs, bangles, and musical instruments. Coconut-shell flour, ground from clean mature shells, is used as a filler in the thermoplastic industry and as an abrasive for cleaning machinery. The shell produces a high-quality charcoal that burns with intense heat and has high absorbency; it has been used in gas masks and can be further processed into activated carbon for water purification, crystalline sugar preparation, and gold purification. The outer portion of the trunk provides a widely used tropical timber that is red-brown with a coarse texture and straight to entangled grain. It is hard and heavy but not very durable, seasons slowly with a slight risk of checking and a high risk of distortion, and once dry is moderately stable. It has a high blunting effect on tools, so stellite-tipped or tungsten-carbide tools are recommended; nailing and screwing require pre-boring; gluing is satisfactory. The timber is used for structural house frameworks, load-bearing elements such as frames, floors, and trusses, poles, high-quality furniture, and parquet flooring.
Wikipedia
Source ↗An evergreen tree reaching 25 m (82 ft) tall and 7 m (23 ft) wide, growing at a medium rate. Hardy to UK zone 10. Wind-pollinated and self-fertile, attracting wildlife. Adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils, preferring good drainage but tolerating poor nutrition. Grows in mildly acidic, neutral, and basic soils, as well as very acidic, very alkaline, and saline conditions. Requires full sun, prefers moist soil, and tolerates drought.
Production
Early germinating nuts, give early production in the field. They can commence production after 6-8 years. The best yields are often produced between 12 and 60 years of age. Trees can live for 100 years. Palms can produce 15-100 nuts per year. Fruit take about 1 year to be mature. Tapping the flower stalk can give 1 kg sap/day for 6 months. For palm hearts plants are put at a close spacing of about 2 m and are ready to harvest in 2 years.
Other Information
A common and popular snack food and supplement in all coastal areas of Papua New Guinea and all tropical coastal places. It is cultivated.
Notes
There is now only one Cocos species.
Names & Synonyms
Alupwa, Coco, Coco-da-bahia, Cocotero, Dab, Dafo, Dhivehi ruh, Doo'ng, Dua, Ehi, Faluma, Ha'ari, Iru, Joz narjl, Joz al-hind, Kelapa, Kobbarichettu, Kogo, Kokosnoot, Kul, Lu, Maprao, Mnazi, Mosara, Naarajiin, Naral, Narel, Nariel, Narikal, Narikel, Narikela, Narikelam, Narikelamu, Nariyal, Ngolo, Ni, Nih, Nio, Niu, Niyog, Nizok, Nkoko, Nohara, Nu, Nui, Nuu, Ohi, Ohn, Pol, Purumatingurrupuwa, Te ni, Tengu, Tenkai, Tenkaya, Tennaimaram, Thenga, Thenna, Urub
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