COCONUT

Coconuts are the stone fruits of the coconut palm of the palm family (Palmae, Arecaceae) which flourish best in tropical coastal regions (salt spray). The native habitat of the coconut palm is not known with certainty because coconuts can float for considerable distances in seawater without losing their ability to germinate. As a result, coconuts palms are now to be found on tropical beaches worldwide. 

50 - 120 fruit may be harvested from a single coconut palm. Each fruit weighs 1 - 2.5 kg. The coco-de-mer or Seychelles double coconut is the largest coconut and may weigh as much as 20 kg.

A longitudinal section through a coconut reveals the following structure: the coconut is enclosed in a leathery, glossy outer skin (exocarp), which is of a yellow-green to yellow-brown color and is watertight. Under the exocarp is a spongy, fibrous husk (coir) or mesocarp, which is 4 - 6 cm in thickness. This layer corresponds to the flesh (pulp) of other fruit. The fibrous husk is removed from the hard nut with a spike. The fibers are processed to produce carpeting, mats and the like. Removal of the coir reveals the familiar coconut. The outer layer of the coconut is a brown, very hard endocarp, approx. 0.5 cm thick, which is a rounded, triangular stone, the blunt end of which has three "eyes", i.e. germ pores set in pits .