Thecoconut (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the palmfamily (Arecaceae) and the only livingspecies of thegenusCocos.[1] The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut")[2] can denote the wholecoconut palmtree, theseed, or thefruit. Originally native toCentral Indo-Pacific, they are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions.
The coconut tree provides food, fuel, cosmetics, folk medicine and building materials. The inner flesh of the mature seed forms a regular part of the diets of many people in the tropics andsubtropics. Coconutendosperm contains a large quantity of a liquid, "coconut water". Mature coconuts can be processed foroil andcoconut milk from the flesh,charcoal from the hard shell, andcoir from the fibroushusk. Dried coconut flesh is calledcopra, and the oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and insoaps andcosmetics. Sweet coconut sap can be made into drinks or fermented intopalm wine orcoconut vinegar. The hard shells, fibrous husks and long pinnate leaves are used to make a products forfurnishing and decoration.
The coconut has cultural and religious significance forAustronesian peoples, appearing in their mythologies, songs, and oral traditions. It has religious significance inSouth Asian cultures, where it is used inHindurituals including weddings and worship. It plays a central role in theCoconut Religion founded in 1963 inVietnam.
Trees can grow up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall and can yield up to 75 fruits per year, though fewer than 30 is more typical. They are intolerant to cold and prefer copious precipitation and full sunlight. Many insect pests and diseases affect commercial production. In 2022, about 73% of the world's supply of coconuts was produced byIndonesia,India, and thePhilippines.
Description
Coconut palm leaves
Cocos nucifera is a large palm, growing up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall, withpinnate leaves 4–6 m (13–20 ft) long, and pinnae 60–90 centimetres (2–3 ft) long; old leaves break away cleanly, leaving thetrunk smooth.[3] On fertile soil, a tall coconut palm tree can yield up to 75fruits per year, but more often yields less than 30.[4][5][6] Tall varieties produce their first fruit in 6 to 10 years, and live for 60 to 100 years; dwarf varieties become productive after 3 or 4 years, and live for some 30 years.[7]
Inflorescence
Inflorescence unfurling
The coconut ismonoecious, producing female and maleflowers on the sameinflorescence.[8] However, there is some evidence that it may bepolygamomonoecious and may occasionally have bisexual flowers.[9] The female flower is much larger than the male flower. Flowering occurs continuously. Coconut palms are largely cross-pollinated, although most dwarf varieties are self-pollinating.[10]
Fruit
Husks
Botanically, the coconut fruit is adrupe, not atrue nut.[11] Like other fruits, it hasthree layers: theexocarp,mesocarp, andendocarp. The exocarp is the glossy outer skin, usually yellow-green to yellow-brown in color. The mesocarp is composed of afiber, calledcoir, which has many traditional and commercial uses. The exocarp and the mesocarp make up the "husk" of the coconut, while the endocarp makes up the hard coconut "shell". The endocarp is around 4 millimetres (1⁄8 inch) thick and has three distinctivegermination pores (micropyles) on the distal end. Two of the pores are plugged (the "eyes"), while one is functional.[12][13]
Palm heavy with fruit
The interior of the endocarp is hollow and is lined with a thin brownseed coat, some0.2 mm (1⁄64 in) thick. The endocarp is initially filled with a multinucleate liquidendosperm (thecoconut water). As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the endocarp up to11 mm (3⁄8 in) thick, starting at the far end. They eventually form the edible solid endosperm ("coconut meat") which hardens over time. The small cylindricalembryo is embedded in the solid endosperm directly below the functional pore. During germination, the embryo pushes out of the functional pore and forms ahaustorium inside the central cavity. This absorbs the solid endosperm to nourishthe seedling.[12][14][15]
The fruits have two distinctive forms. Wildniu kafa coconuts feature an elongated triangular fruit with a thicker husk and a smaller amount of endosperm. These make the fruits more buoyant and allow them to lodge into sandy shorelines, ideal for ocean dispersal. Domesticatedniu vai Pacific coconuts are rounded in shape with a thinner husk, more endosperm, and morecoconut water.[16][17][10]
A full-sized fruit weighs about 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds 1 ounce). Coconuts sold domestically in coconut-producing countries are typically not de-husked. Especially immature coconuts (6 to 8 months from flowering) are sold for coconut water and softer jelly-like coconut meat (known as "green coconuts", "young coconuts", or "water coconuts"), where the original coloration of the fruit is more pleasing.[18][19]
Whole mature coconuts (11 to 13 months from flowering) sold for export, however, typically have the husk removed to reduce weight and volume for transport. This results in the naked coconut "shell" with three pores more familiar in countries where coconuts are not grown locally. De-husked coconuts typically weigh around 750 to 850 grams (1 lb 10 oz to 1 lb 14 oz). These are easier for consumers to open, but have a shorter postharvest storage life of around two to three weeks at temperatures of 12 to 15 °C (54 to 59 °F) or up to 2 months at 0 to 1.5 °C (32.0 to 34.7 °F). In comparison, mature coconuts with a husk can be stored for three to five months at room temperature.[18][19]
Roots
Thepalm tree has neither ataproot norroot hairs, but afibrous root system.[8] This consists of many thin roots that grow outward from the plant near the surface. Only a few penetrate deep into the soil for stability. This is known as a fibrous or adventitious root system, and is a characteristic of grass species. 2,000–4,000adventitious roots may grow, each about1 cm (1⁄2 in) large. Decayed roots are replaced regularly as the tree grows new ones.[20]
Taxonomy
Taxonomic history
The Swedish botanist and taxonomistCarl Linnaeus formally described the speciesCocos nucifera in his bookSpecies Plantarum in 1753.[21] The name is accepted by botanists.[1] In 1768, in his bookThe Gardeners Dictionary, the English botanistPhilip Miller redescribed the plant asPalma cocos, a name treated as a synonym.[22][1] In 1891, the German botanistOtto Kuntze gave it the nameCalappa nucifera in hisRevisio Generum Plantarum, also treated as a synonym.[23][1]
Etymology
Thegeneric nameCocos, and the common name, is derived from the 16th-centuryPortuguese wordcoco, meaning 'head' or 'skull' after the three indentations on the coconut shell that give an impression of a face.[24][25][26][27] This apparently came from encounters in 1521 byPortuguese andSpanish explorers withPacific Islanders, when the coconut shell reminded them ofghosts in Portuguese folklore calledcoco orcôca.[27][28] In the West, the fruit was originally callednux indica, a name used byMarco Polo in 1280 while inSumatra. His term is a translation from the Arabic of the time, where it was called جوز هنديjawz hindī, "Indian nut".[7]Thenga, itsTamil/Malayalam name, was used in the detailed description of coconut found inItinerario byLudovico di Varthema published in 1510 and in the laterHortus Indicus Malabaricus.[29]
Thespecific namenucifera means "nut-bearing", from theLatin wordsnux (nut) andfera (bearing).[30]
Origins
Fossil history
FossilCocos zeylandica from theMiocene ofNew Zealand, approximately the size of astrawberry at3.5 cm (1+1⁄2 in) long
The vast majority ofCocos-like fossils have been recovered from only two regions in the world:New Zealand and west-centralIndia. However,Cocos-like fossils are still putative, as they are difficult to identify.[31] The earliestCocos-like fossil to be found wasC. zeylandica, a fossil species with small fruits, around3.5 cm (1+1⁄2 in) ×1.3 to 2.5 cm (1⁄2 to 1 in) in size, from theMiocene (~23 to 5.3 million years ago) ofNew Zealand. Since then, numerous other fossils of similar fruits of uncertain affinity have been found in New Zealand from theEocene,Oligocene, and possibly theHolocene.[31][32] In theDeccan Traps of west-central India, numerous fossils ofCocos-like fruits, leaves, and stems have been found. They includemorphotaxa likePalmoxylon sundaran,Palmoxylon insignae, andPalmocarpon cocoides.Cocos-like fossils of fruits includeCocos intertrappeansis,Cocos pantii, andCocos sahnii. Some have been tentatively identified as modernC. nucifera. These include two specimens namedC. palaeonucifera andC. binoriensis, both dated by their authors to theMaastrichtian–Danian of the earlyTertiary (70 to 62 million years ago).C. binoriensis has been claimed to be the earliest known fossil ofC. nucifera.[33][31][34]
Only two other regions have reportedCocos-like fossils, namelyAustralia andColombia. In Australia, aCocos-like fossil fruit, measuring10 cm × 9.5 cm (3+7⁄8 in × 3+3⁄4 in), was recovered from the Chinchilla Sand Formation dated to the latestPliocene or basalPleistocene. Rigby (1995) assigned them to modernCocos nucifera based on its size.[33][31] In Colombia, a singleCocos-like fruit was recovered from themiddle to late PaleoceneCerrejón Formation. The fruit, however, was compacted in the fossilization process and it was not possible to determine if it had the diagnostic three pores that characterize members of the tribeCocoseae. Nevertheless, one study assigned it toCocos based on the size and the ridged shape of the fruit.[35]
Genetic studies identify the coconut's center of origin as theCentral Indo-Pacific, where it has its greatest genetic diversity.[40][20][41][42] Its cultivation and spread was closely tied to migrations of theAustronesian peoples whocarried coconuts to the islands they settled.[41][42][43][44] Linguistic, archaeological, and genetic evidence all points to domestication of Pacific coconuts by Austronesians in Southeast Asia during theAustronesian expansion (c. 3000 to 1500 BCE).[45][42][41][46] Drift models based on wind and ocean currents show that coconuts could not have drifted across the Pacific unaided,[47] implying that dispersal was human-assisted.[48]
Geographical distributions of Indo-Atlantic and Pacific coconut subpopulations and their genetic composition[42]
Coconuts are divided into two subpopulations, a Pacific group fromIsland Southeast Asia and an Indo-Atlantic group from the south of theIndian subcontinent. The Pacific group is clearly domesticated, with dwarf habit, self-pollination, andniu vai fruits with large endosperm-to-husk ratios. The distribution of Pacific coconuts corresponds to regions settled by Austronesian voyagers, especiallyMadagascar. The island's coconuts show genetic admixture between the two subpopulations, indicating that Pacific coconuts interbred with Indo-Atlantic coconuts there.[42][43] Although archaeological remains from 1000 to 500 BCE suggest that Indo-Atlantic coconuts were later independently cultivated byDravidian peoples, only Pacific coconuts show clear domestication traits like dwarf habits, self-pollination, and rounded fruits. Indo-Atlantic coconuts, in contrast, have the ancestral traits of tall habits and elongated triangular fruits.[45][42][41][46]
Genetic studies have confirmedpre-Columbian populations of coconuts inPanama. However, it is not native and displays a genetic bottleneck resulting from afounder effect. Coconuts in the Americas are most closely related to those in thePhilippines, indicating that the coconuts were not introduced naturally, such as by sea currents, but by early Austronesian sailors to the Americas from at least 4250 BCE.[41][44][47] During thecolonial era, Pacific coconuts were further introduced toMexico from theSpanish East Indies via theManila galleons.[42] In contrast, Indo-Atlantic coconuts were spread by Arab and Persian traders into theEast African coast. Indo-Atlantic coconuts were introduced in the last few centuries into theAtlantic Ocean byPortuguese ships from colonies inIndia andSri Lanka: first to coastalWest Africa, and then to theCaribbean andBrazil.[42]
Domestication
Coconuts can be broadly divided into two fruit types – the ancestralniu kafa form with a thick-husked, angular fruit, and theniu vai form with a thin-husked, spherical fruit with a higher proportion ofendosperm. The terms areSamoan.[42][16][49]
Theniu kafa form is the wild ancestral type, with thick husks to protect the seed, an angular, highly ridged shape to promote buoyancy during ocean dispersal, and a pointed base that allowed fruits to dig into the sand, preventing them from being washed away duringgermination on a new island. It is the dominant form in the Indo-Atlantic coconuts.[16][42] However, they may have been selected to some extent for thicker husks forcoir production, which was important in Austronesian material culture as a source for cordage in building houses and boats.[45]
Two major fruit types
Theniu kafa form of wild and Indo-Atlantic coconuts, possibly selected for morecoir for houses and boats
Theniu vai form of domesticated Pacific coconuts,selected for more meat andwater, and less husk
Theniu vai form is the domesticated form dominant in Pacific coconuts. They wereartificially selected by Austronesians for their larger endosperm-to-husk ratio and higher coconut water content, making them more useful as food and water reserves for sea voyages. The decreased buoyancy and increased fragility of this spherical, thin-husked fruit did not matter for a species that had started to be dispersed by humans and grown in plantations.[16][17]Niu vai endocarp fragments have been recovered in archaeological sites in theSt. Matthias Islands of theBismarck Archipelago. The fragments are dated to approximately 1000 BCE, suggesting that cultivation and artificial selection of coconuts were already practiced by the AustronesianLapita people.[45]
Coconuts can be broadly divided into two general types based on habit: the "Tall" (var.typica) and "Dwarf" (var.nana) varieties.[50] The two groups are genetically distinct, with the dwarf variety showing a greater degree of artificial selection for ornamental traits and for early germination and fruiting.[49][51] The tall variety isoutcrossing while dwarf palms areself-pollinating, which has led to a much greater degree ofgenetic diversity within the tall group.[52]
The dwarf coconut cultivars are fully domesticated, unlike the more diverse tall cultivars.[53][52] Dwarf coconuts share three genetic markers out of thirteen (rare in tall cultivars), making it likely that they originate from a single domesticated population. Philippine and Malayan dwarf coconuts diverged early into two distinct types. They usually remain genetically isolated when introduced to new regions. Numerous other dwarf cultivars developed after such introductions, hybridizing with tall cultivars. The origin of dwarf varieties isSoutheast Asia, which contain the tall cultivars genetically closest to dwarf coconuts.[42][54][53][52]
Genome sequencing of tall and dwarf varieties reveals that they diverged 2 to 8 million years ago and that the dwarf variety arose through alterations in genes for the metabolism of the plant hormonegibberellin.[55]
Another ancestral variety is theniu leka ofPolynesia (the "Compact Dwarfs"). Although it resembles dwarf coconuts (including slow growth), it is genetically distinct and was independently domesticated, likely inTonga. Other cultivars ofniu leka may exist in other islands of the Pacific, and some are probably descendants of advanced crosses between Compact Dwarfs and Southeast Asian Dwarf types.[54][53]
The coconut palm thrives on sandy soils and is highly tolerant ofsalinity. It prefers areas with abundant sunlight and regular rainfall of between 1500 mm and 2500 mm per year. It prefers humidity above 60%. If rainfall is less than this, it can survive if its roots can reach the soil water table, but it cannot tolerate waterlogging. It grows from sea level to an altitude of 600 metres in the tropics. It can tolerate a dry season of one month on sandy soils inland, and as much as three months on heavier soils, but the soil must be free-draining. It grows on soils with a pH of 4.5 to 8 (the latter on coral atolls), but prefers a range of 5.5 to 7. Growth is seriously limited by shade. It can resist hurricane-strength winds provided it has developed a good root system.[56]
Wild coconuts are restricted to coastal areas in sandy, saline soils. The fruit is adapted for ocean dispersal. Coconuts could not reach inland locations without human intervention to carry seednuts and plant seedlings.[57]
Coconut palms are normally cultivated in hot and wet tropical climates. They need year-round warmth and moisture to grow well and fruit. Coconut palms are hard to establish in dry climates, and cannot grow there without frequent irrigation. In drought conditions, the new leaves do not open well, older leaves may become desiccated, and fruit may be shed.[56]
The extent of cultivation in the tropics is threatening a number of habitats, such asmangroves; an example of such damage to an ecoregion is in the Petenes mangroves of theYucatán.[58] Uniquely among plants, coconut trees can be irrigated with sea water.[59]
The coconut palm is damaged by thelarvae of manyLepidoptera (butterfly andmoth) species which feed on it, including theAfrican armyworm (Spodoptera exempta) andBatrachedra spp.:B. arenosella,B. atriloqua (feeds exclusively onC. nucifera),B. mathesoni (feeds exclusively onC. nucifera), andB. nuciferae.[61]
The coconut leaf beetleBrontispa longissima feeds on young leaves, and damages bothseedlings and mature coconut palms. In 2007, the Philippines imposed aquarantine inMetro Manila and 26 provinces to stop the spread of thepest and protect the Philippine coconut industry managed by some 3.5 million farmers.[62]
The fruit may be damaged byeriophyidcoconut mites (Aceria guerreronis). This mite infests coconut plantations, and can cause economic damage up to 60% of coconut production.[63] The immature seeds are infested and damaged by larvae.[64] Chemical control is possible, but since it needs to be repeated frequently it is impracticable on grounds of cost, environmental harm, andpesticide residues in coconut meat and coconut water.[65]
Coconut has many commercial and traditionalcultivars. They can be sorted mainly into tall, dwarf, and hybrid cultivars (hybrids between talls and dwarfs).[66] Varieties are often regional, such as Ceylon Tall, Jamaica Tall, Java Tall, and Malayan Tall.[7]
Dwarf varieties of Pacific coconuts have been cultivated byAustronesian peoples since ancient times. These varieties were selected for slower growth, sweeter coconut water, and often brightly colored fruits.[54] Dwarf varieties include Dwarf Green and Dwarf Orange.[7]
Varieties have been selected for diverse traits: for example,King coconut is a Sri Lankan variety with a relatively low sugar content, whileMacapuno has soft jelly-like flesh that fills the whole central cavity; it is used to make sweet desserts.[67][68]
Maypan is anF1 hybrid bred in Jamaica in the 1970s to resistlethal yellowing.[69][70] However by 2007, Maypan resistance was failing in Jamaica.[71] Some other coconut varieties have naturalresistance to lethal yellowing withalleles atmicrosatellites, withVanuatu tall andSri-Lanka green dwarf as the most resistant cultivars, whileWest African tall is especially susceptible.[72][73][74]
Breeding
Conventionalplant breeding is of limited use with coconut because there is no wild coconut species to supply additional genetic diversity; the generation time is long; there is muchheterozygosity; artificial pollination to conduct crosses produces only a few seeds; and vegetative reproduction (cloning) is unreliable. Coconut breeding objectives can include copra content, production of female flowers, oil content, aroma of coconut meat and water, softness and sweetness of endosperm, drought tolerance, resistance to root wilt, and resistance to eriophorid mites.[75]
Hybrids provide higher precocity and productivity with the number of fruits than other breeds, but they produce fruits with low market acceptance for the water quality of the fruit. Intravarietal crosses in Dwarf coconut (dwarf coconuts bred together) have been tested to provide better water quality for the coconut water market than the hybrids.[76]
Harvesting
Left: In thePhilippines, workers harvest coconuts by climbing the trees using notches cut into the trunk; Center: Worker harvesting coconuts inVeracruz,Mexico using ropes andpulleys; Right: Coconut workers in theMaldives using a loop of cloth around the ankles
The two most common harvesting methods are by climbing[77] and by using poles.[78]
Climbing is the more widespread, but it is more dangerous and requires skilled workers.[77] Manually climbing trees is traditional in most countries and requires a posture that exerts pressure on the trunk with the feet. Climbers employed on coconut plantations often develop musculoskeletal disorders and risk injury or death from falling.[79][80][81] For safety, coconut climbers in the Philippines andGuam use abolo knife tied with a rope to the waist to cut grooves at regular intervals on the coconut trunks. This makes the trunk of the tree more like a ladder, though it reduces the value of timber recovered from the trees and can admit infection.[82][77][83] Other methods to make climbing easier include using a system of pulleys and ropes; using pieces of vine, rope, or cloth tied to both hands or feet; using spikes attached to the feet or legs; or attaching coconut husks to the trunk with ropes.[84]
The pole method uses a long pole with a cutting device at the end. In the Philippines, the traditional tool is called thehalabas and is made from a long bamboo pole with a sickle-like blade at its tip. Though safer and faster than climbing, it does not allow workers to examine and clean the crown of coconuts for pests and diseases.[78]
Worker in thePhilippines using a bamboo bridge network to collect sweet coconut sap from cut flower stalks for the production oflambanog, a distilled alcoholic drink
Modern methods use hydraulic elevators mounted on tractors or ladders.[85] Mechanical coconut climbing devices and robots have been developed in India, Sri Lanka, andMalaysia.[86][87][88][84] The Coconut Maturity Detection Project uses imaging andmachine learning to identify mature coconut bunches ready for harvesting.[89]
A system of bamboo bridges and ladders directly connecting the tree canopies is used in the Philippines for coconut plantations that harvest coconut sap (not fruits) forcoconut vinegar andpalm wine production.[90][85] In other areas, as inPapua New Guinea, coconuts are simply collected when they fall to the ground.[77]
In 2022, world production of coconuts was 62 milliontonnes, led byIndonesia, India, and the Philippines, with 73% combined of the total.[96] Indonesia is the world's largest producer.[97] The Philippines is the world's second-largest producer. It was the largest for decades until a decline in production, due to aging trees as well as from typhoon devastations: Indonesia overtook it in 2010. It is still the largest producer ofcoconut oil andcopra, accounting for 64% of global production. The production of coconuts plays an important role in theeconomy, with 25% of cultivated land (around 3.56 million hectares) used for coconut plantations and approximately 25 to 33% of the population reliant on coconuts for their livelihood.[98][99][100]
Coconuts being sold on a street in India
In India, four southern states account for almost 90% of India's total production:Tamil Nadu (33.8%),Karnataka (25.2%),Kerala (24.0%), andAndhra Pradesh (7.2%).[101] Other states, such as Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, and those in the northeast (Tripura andAssam) account for the rest. Though Kerala has the largest number of coconut trees, Tamil Nadu is the most productive per hectare.[102] The coconut is the official state tree of Kerala, whose name in the local languageMalayalam means "coconut land".[103]
Coconut trees line the beaches and corniches ofOman.
The main coconut-producing area in the Middle East is theDhofar region ofOman.[104] The ancient coconut groves of Dhofar were mentioned by the medieval Moroccan travellerIbn Battuta in his writings, known asAlRihla.[105] Coconut trees are grown for decorative purposes along the coasts of theUnited Arab Emirates andSaudi Arabia with the help of irrigation.[106]
Sri Lanka is the fourth-largest producer, and is the second-largest producer of coconut oil and copra, accounting for 15% of global production. The production of coconuts is the main source ofSri Lanka economy, with 12% of cultivated land and 409,244 hectares used for coconut growing (2017). Sri Lanka established its Coconut Development Authority and Coconut Cultivation Board and Coconut Research Institute in the earlyBritish Ceylon period.[107]
In theUnited States, coconut palms can be grown and reproduced outdoors without irrigation in the warmer territories such asHawaii and southern and centralFlorida.>[68]
Coconuts are grown on the northern coast of Australia, and in some warmer parts ofNew South Wales. However, they are mainly for decoration, and the coconut industry is small; the country is a net importer of coconut products.[108]
Cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) is asurfactant manufactured from coconut oil and used as an ingredient in personal hygiene products and cosmetics, such asshampoos, liquidsoaps, cleansers andantiseptics. CAPB may cause mild skin irritation,[111] but allergic reactions to CAPB are rare[112] and probably related to impurities rendered during the manufacturing process (which includeamidoamine anddimethylaminopropylamine) rather than CAPB itself.[111]
The coconut palm is grown throughout thetropics for decoration, as well as for its culinary and nonculinary uses; virtuallyevery part of the coconut palm is used by humans in some manner and has significant economic value. The coconut's versatility is noted in some of its names: inSanskrit, it iskalpa vriksha ("the tree of the necessities of life"), while inMalay, it ispokok seribu guna ("the tree of a thousand uses"), and in the Philippines, it is called the "tree of life".[113] It is one of the most useful trees in the world.[14]
Raw coconut meat is 47% water, 33%fat, 15%carbohydrates, and 3%protein (table). In a reference amount of 100 grams (3.5 oz), raw coconut flesh supplies 350calories offood energy, and is a rich source (20% or more of theDaily Value, DV) ofmanganese (65% DV) andcopper (48% DV), with various otherdietary minerals in moderate amounts (10-18% DV; table). It is a poor source ofvitamins. Raw coconut meat has a high content ofsaturated fatty acids (30% of total fats), withlauric acid as the main saturated fat (15% of total; USDA source in table).
Themany culinary uses of coconuts are largely based on the edible white, fleshy part of the seed (theendosperm), known as "coconut meat".[116] The meat of immature coconuts can be eaten as it is or cooked in pastries. Mature coconut meat is tough and is processed before consumption, being made into products likecoconut milk,[116][117][118][119][120] "coconut chips"[119] or grated and dehydrated as "desiccated coconut".[121][122][123]
Coconut water can be drunk fresh or used in cooking.[132][133] It can be fermented to produce a jelly-like dessert known asnata de coco.[134] Coconut vinegar, made from fermented coconut water or sap, is used extensively in Southeast Asian andGoan cuisine.[117]
Coconut sap, fresh or fermented, is drunk as toddy ortubâ in the Philippines. When left to ferment on its own, it becomes palm wine. Palm wine is distilled to producearrack.[135] The sap can be reduced by boiling to create a sweet syrup, or reduced further to yieldcoconut sugar. A young, well-maintained tree can produce around 300 litres (79 US gallons) of toddy per year, while a 40-year-old tree may yield around 400 L (110 US gal).[136]
Among the many non-food uses of coconut palms, the husk and shells can be used for fuel or made intocharcoal.[140] The husks can serve asflotation devices or as anabrasive.[141] The shell, freed from the husk, and heated on warm ashes, exudes an oily material that is used to soothe dental pains intraditional medicine of Cambodia.[142]Coir fiber from husks is used inropes,mats,brushes, and sacks, ascaulking for boats, and as stuffing formattresses.[143] It is used inhorticulture in potting compost, especially in orchid mix, and to make brooms in Cambodia.[142]Coconut cups were frequently carved with scenes inrelief and mounted with precious metals.[144] The leaves provide material forbaskets and for roofingthatch; they can be woven into mats, cookingskewers, and kindlingarrows. Leaves are woven into small pouches that are filled with rice and cooked to makepusô andketupat.[145]
Hawaiians hollowed out coconut trunks to form drums, containers, or small canoes. The "branches" (leafpetioles) are strong and flexible enough to make aswitch. The use of coconut branches in corporal punishment was revived in the Gilbertese community on Choiseul in theSolomon Islands in 2005.[146] The roots are used to makedye, amouthwash, and a folk medicine fordiarrhea anddysentery.[4] A frayed piece of root can be used as atoothbrush. In Cambodia, the roots are used in traditional medicine.[142] Leftover fiber from coconut oil and coconut milk production, coconut meal, is used as livestock feed. The driedcalyx is used as fuel in wood-firedstoves. Coconut water is traditionally used as a growth supplement inplant tissue culture andmicropropagation.[147]
In culture
Palaspas, woven palm fronds duringPalm Sunday celebrations in the PhilippinesA "coconut monkey" fromMexico, a common souvenir carved from coconut shellsAcanang, an offering of flowers, rice, andincense in woven coconut leaves fromBali,Indonesia
A coconut (Sanskrit:narikela) is used inHindurituals.[148] Often it is decorated with bright metal foils. It is offered during worship to a Hindu god or goddess.Narali Purnima is celebrated on afull moon day which usually signifies the end ofmonsoon season in India. The wordNarali is derived fromMarathinaral, "coconut". Fishermen give an offering of coconut to the sea to celebrate the beginning of a new fishing season,[149] in the hope of bountiful catches. Hindus often initiate any new activity by breaking a coconut to ensure the blessings of the gods. The Hindu goddess of well-being and wealth,Lakshmi, is often shown holding a coconut.[150] They are used in Hindu weddings as a symbol of prosperity.[151] The flowers are used sometimes in wedding ceremonies in Cambodia.[142] The coconut has cultural and religious significance forAustronesian peoples, appearing in their mythologies, songs, and oral traditions.[152][45]
TheZulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club ofNew Orleans traditionally throws hand-decorated coconuts, one of the most valuableMardi Gras souvenirs, to parade revelers. The tradition began in the 1910s, and has continued since. In 1987, a "coconut law" was signed by GovernorEdwin Edwards exempting from insurance liability any decorated coconut "handed" from a Zulu float.[153]
The coconut is used as a target and prize in the traditional British fairground gamecoconut shy. The player buys some small balls which are thrown at coconuts balanced on sticks. The aim is to knock a coconut off the stand and win it.[154]
It was the main food of adherents of the now discontinued VietnameseCoconut Religion,Đạo Dừa.[155]
Myths and legends
Some South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Ocean cultures haveorigin myths in which the coconut plays the main role. In theHainuwele myth fromMaluku, a girl emerges from the blossom of a coconut tree.[156] InMaldivian folklore, one of the main myths of origin reflects the dependence of theMaldivians on the coconut tree.[157] In the story ofSina and the Eel, the origin of the coconut is related as the beautiful woman Sina burying an eel, which eventually became the first coconut.[158]
In March 1521,Antonio Pigafetta described the coconut in his journal in Italian with the word "cocho", plural "cochi". This followed the first European crossing of the Pacific Ocean during theMagellancircumnavigation. He explained how at Guam "they eat coconuts" ("mangiano cochi") and that the natives there "anoint the body and the hair with coconut andbeniseed oil" ("ongieno el corpo et li capili co oleo de cocho et de giongioli").[163]
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