Common Name

Coconut Palm

Classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Lilliopsida Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Genus: Cocos Species: C. nucifera

Origin
The origin of the coconut is virtually unknown. However, its name was recorded in Sanskrit in early history. The coconut became known to the western world in the 6th century. It was imported into Egypt from the Indian Ocean. Marco Polo recognized the coconut as the "Pharoah's nut" as he traveled through India.

The coconut and its relatives in other languages derived from Spanish or Portuguese origin. It was described as coco, which means coco, "spectre, goblin" or "grinning face". There are three holes on the coconut, which makes its appearance resemble an eerie or poppop-eyed merry face. The botanical name for the coconut is Cocos Cocos nucifera with nucifera meaning "bearing nuts".

Coconut.
first domesticated in Malaysia planted wherever climates support their growth

Coconut
Cocos nucifera The word coco derives from the word monkey because the nut resembles a monkey's face. Coconut is the most important of cultivated palms. Origin in southeast Asia (IndoPacific) with secondary center in India.

Distribution
The world production of coconut currently is around 55 million tons, Indonesia having the highest production figures accounting up to around 30% in world figures. The nut is cultivated on around 26 million acres of land throughout the world in more than 90 countries of the world. The production of coconuts has increased significantly during the last decade with the increase in the world demand.

Distribution

Major Producer
In 1997 the total world area planted with coconut palms was about 12 million ha, more than 90 percent of which was in Asia. Major coconut producers were Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka On average, in 1993, about 30 percent of the plantations in the Asian countries were over-aged while in the Pacific it was over 45 percent.

Area of coconut palm plantations and availability of coconut wood

Country 1993 (1000 ha) 1997 (1000 ha) 3 760 3 314 1 886 442 377 270 200 651 10 314 260 1993 1993 Coconut overmatur overmature wood3 e (1000 ha) (1000 m3) (%)2 20 30 5 20 35 60 n.a. n.a. n.a. 30 727 923 77 84 118 186 n.a. n.a. 2115 78 65 400 83 000 69 300 75 600 10 600 16 700 n.a. n.a. 320 600 7 000

Indonesia Philippines India Sri Lanka Thailand Malaysia Vietnam Rest Asia Asia Total Papua New Guinea

3 636 3 075 1 538 419 336 310 215 64 9 593 260

Description
Tree
large single-trunked palm tree Smooth Columnar light grayish brown trunk with a terminal crown of leaves tall varieties may attain a height of 80 to 100 feet (24 to 31 m) trunk is slender and often swollen at the base

An unbranched monoecious palm, 40 to 100 ft tall, 18- 24 inches in diameter Flowers in the 6th year. Matures 16- 18 months after pollination

 a young coconut palm

 dwarf varieties are shorter in stature

Leaves
pinnate leaves are feathershaped 18 feet (5.5 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide leaf stalks are 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) in length and spineless.

Fruit
roughly ovoid up to 15 inches (38 cm) long and 12 inches (30 cm) wide composed of a thick, fibrous husk surrounding a somewhat spherical nut with a hard, brittle hairy shell

Fruits weighs 2- 3 pounds each, are 24% water

Flowers
 male and female flowers are borne on the same inflorescence the inflorescences emerge from canoe-shaped sheaths among the leaves and may be 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 m) long and have 10 to 50 branchlets male flowers are small, light yellow, and are found at the ends of the branchlets. Female flowers are larger than male flowers, light yellow in color, and are found towards the base of the branchlets coconut palms begin to flower at about 4 to 6 years of age.

inside the shell is a thin, white, fleshy layer, about one inch thick at maturity, known as the "meat" or copra

the nut is 6 to 8 inches 15 to 20 cm) in diameter and 10 to 12 inches 25 to 30 cm) long the interior of the nut is hollow but partially filled with a watery liquid called "coconut milk three sunken holes of softer tissue called "eyes" are at one end of the nut

Economic Importance
coconut is the most extensively grown and used nut in the world and the most important palm it is an important commercial crop in many tropical countries, contributing significantly to their economies this demand in the country is much higher than the current production which turns one of the major coconuts producing country into a net coconut importer country

the fruit as well as the tree, both have a numerous uses. Several other products are derived from the coconut palm and they too are used in many applications consumption of coconut is dominated by the food sector and a significant part is also utilized in obtaining coconut oil  chief product is copra, the source of coconut oil used for making soap, shampoo, cosmetics, cooking oils and margarine

Coconut Products
Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut-scented hand soap Coconut Milk

Coconut Fiber Coconut Cookies

Pendant and earrings

Tray sets and Baskets

Other uses:
Trunk - source of timber Leaves - Thatch Flowering stalk - tapped for sugar source of alcoholic beverage (palm wine (toddy) Nuts (many products) = Whole coconuts = Copra (dried kernel): 5500 nuts = 1 tonne = Coconut oil: 8960 = 1 tonne = Coconut oil cake Fiber (coir) Desiccated shredded coconut Coconut milk and coconut protein Shell for charcoal

TREE OF LIFE

He who plants a coconut tree plants food and drink, vessels and clothing, a habitation for himself, and a heritage for his children.

Trivia

 It is the only species in the genus Cocos

Copra is dried coconut meat that has a high oil content, as much as 64%. Coconut oil is the most readily digested of all the fats of general use in the world. The oil furnishes about 9,500 calories of energy per kilogram. Its chief competitors are soya bean oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil. Coconut oil retards aging. It counteracts heart, colon, pancreatic and liver tumor inducers. And it is easy to digest. In the detergent industry, coconut oil is very important. Its most outstanding characteristic is its high saponification value in view of the molecular weight of most of the fatty acid glycerides it contains. An advantageous utilization of the coconut oil as a detergent was discovered in a May 1951 study wherein a formulation using coconut oil was found to be an effective sanitizer. Other products from coco oil are soap, lard, coco chemicals, crude oil, pomade, shampoo, margarine, butter and cooking oil