Coconut

The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family).

It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut. The spelling cocoanut is an archaic form of the word. The term is derived from the 16th-century Portuguese and Spanish word coco meaning "head" or "skull", from the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features.

The coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many uses of its different parts and found throughout the tropics and subtropics. Coconuts are part of the daily diets of many people. Coconuts are different from any other fruits because they contain a large quantity of "water" and when immature they are known as tender-nuts or jelly-nuts and may be harvested for drinking. When mature, they still contain some water and can be used as seednuts or processed to give oil from the kernel, charcoal from the hard shell and coir from the fibrous husk. The endosperm is initially in its nuclear phase suspended within the coconut water. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the coconut, becoming the edible coconut "flesh". When dried, the coconut flesh is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The clear liquid coconut water within is potable. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it.

Description

Plant

Cocos nucifera is a large palm, growing up to 30 m (98 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves 4â€"6 m (13â€"20 ft) long, and pinnae 60â€"90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly, leaving the trunk smooth. Coconuts are generally classified into two general types: tall and dwarf. On very fertile land, a tall coconut palm tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year, but more often yields less than 30, mainly due to poor cultural practices. Given proper care and growing conditions coconut palms produce their first fruit in six to ten years, it takes 15 â€" 20 years to reach peak production.

Fruit

Botanically, the coconut fruit is a drupe, not a true nut. Like other fruits, it has three layers: the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. The exocarp and mesocarp make up the "husk" of the coconut. Coconuts sold in the shops of nontropical countries often have had the exocarp (outermost layer) removed. The mesocarp is composed of a fiber, called coir, which has many traditional and commercial uses. The shell has three germination pores (stoma) or "eyes" that are clearly visible on its outside surface once the husk is removed.

A full-sized coconut weighs about 1.44 kg (3.2 lb). It takes around 6,000 full-grown coconuts to produce a tonne of copra.

Roots

Unlike some other plants, the palm tree has neither a tap root nor root hairs, but has a fibrous root system.

The coconut palm root system consists of an abundance of thin roots that grow outward from the plant near the surface. Only a few of the roots penetrate deep into the soil for stability. The type of root system is known as fibrous or adventitious, and is a characteristic of grass species. Other types of large trees produce a single downward-growing tap root with a number of feeder roots growing from it.

Coconut palms continue to produce roots from the base of the stem throughout its life. The number of roots produced depends on the age of the tree and the environment, with more than 3,600 roots possible on a tree that's 60 to 70 years old.

Roots are usually less than about 3 inches in diameter and uniformly thick from the tree trunk to the root tip.

Inflorescence

The palm produces both the female and male flowers on the same inflorescence; thus, the palm is monoecious. Other sources use the term polygamomonoecious. The female flower is much larger than the male flower. Flowering occurs continuously. Coconut palms are believed to be largely cross-pollinated, although some dwarf varieties are self-pollinating.

Etymology

One of the earliest mentions of the coconut dates back to the One Thousand and One Nights story of Sinbad the Sailor; he is known to have bought and sold coconuts during his fifth voyage. Tenga, its Malayalam and Tamil name, was used in the detailed description of coconut found in Itinerario by Ludovico di Varthema published in 1510 and also in the later Hortus Indicus Malabaricus. Even earlier, it was called nux indica, a name used by Marco Polo in 1280 while in Sumatra, taken from the Arabs who called it جوز هندي jawz hindī. Both names translate to "Indian nut". In the earliest description of the coconut palm known, given by Cosmos of Alexandria in his Topographia Christiana written about 545 AD, there is a reference to the argell tree and its drupe.

Historical evidence favors the European origin of the name "coconut", for no name is similar in any of the languages of India, where the Portuguese first found the fruit; and indeed Barbosa, Barros, and Garcia, in mentioning the Tamil/Malayalam name tenga, and Canarese narle, expressly say, "we call these fruits quoquos", "our people have given it the name of coco", and "that which we call coco, and the Malabars temga".

The OED states: "Portuguese and Spanish authors of the 16th c. agree in identifying the word with Portuguese and Spanish coco "grinning face, grin, grimace", also "bugbear, scarecrow", cognate with cocar "to grin, make a grimace"; the name being said to refer to the face-like appearance of the base of the shell, with its three holes. According to Losada, the name came from Portuguese explorers, the sailors of Vasco da Gama in India, who first brought them to Europe. The coconut shell reminded them of a ghost or witch in Portuguese folklore called coco (also côca). The first known recorded usage of the term is 1555.

The specific name nucifera is Latin for "nut-bearing".

Origin, domestication, and dispersal

Origin

The origin of the plant is the subject of debate. O.F. Cook was one of the earliest modern researchers to draw conclusions about the location of origin of Cocos nucifera based on its current-day worldwide distribution. He hypothesized that the coconut originated in the Americas, based on his belief that American coconut populations predated European contact and because he considered pan-tropical distribution by ocean currents improbable. Thor Heyerdahl later used this hypothesis of the American origin of the coconut to support his theory that the Pacific Islanders originated in South America. However, more evidence exists for an Indo-Pacific origin either around Melanesia and Malesia or the Indian Ocean. The oldest fossils known of the modern coconut dating from the Eocene period from around 37 to 55 million years ago were found in Australia and India. However, older palm fossils such as some of nipa fruit have been found in the Americas. Since 1978, the work on tracing the probable origin and dispersal of Cocos nucifera has only recently been augmented by a publication on the germination rate of the coconut seednut and another on the importance of the coral atoll ecosystem. Briefly, the coconut originated in the coral atoll ecosystem - without human intervention - and required a thick husk and slow germination to survive and disperse.

Domestication

Coconuts could not reach inland locations without human intervention (to carry seednuts, plant seedlings, etc.) and it was early germination on the palm (vivipary) that was important, rather than increasing the number or size of the edible parts of a fruit that was already large enough. Human cultivation of the coconut selected, not for larger size, but for thinner husks and increased volume of endosperm, the solid “meat” or liquid “water” that provides the fruit its food value. Although these modifications for domestication would reduce the fruit’s ability to float, this ability would be irrelevant to a cultivated population.

Among modern C. nucifera, two major types or variants: a thick-husked, angular fruit and a thin-husked, spherical fruit with a higher proportion of endosperm reflect a trend of cultivation in C. nucifera: the first coconuts were of the niu kafa 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 during germination on a new island. As early human communities began to harvest coconuts for eating and planting, they (perhaps unintentionally) selected for a larger endosperm to husk ratio and a broader, spherical base, which rendered the fruit useful as a cup or bowl, thus creating the niu vai type. The decreased buoyancy and increased fragility of this spherical, thin-husked fruit would not matter for a species that had started to be dispersed by humans and grown in plantations. Harries’ adoption of the Polynesian terms niu kafa and niu vai has now passed into general scientific discourse, and his hypothesis is generally accepted.

Variants of C. nucifera are also categorized as Tall (var. typical) or Dwarf (var. nana). 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. The Tall variety is outcrossing while Dwarf palms are incrossing, which has led to a much greater degree of genetic diversity within the Tall group. It is believed that the Dwarf subgroup mutated from the Tall group under human selection pressure.

Dispersal

It is often cited that coconuts can travel 110 days, or 3,000 miles (4,800 km), by sea and still be able to germinate. This figure has been questioned based on the extremely small sample size of the paper that makes this claim. Thor Heyerdahl provides an alternative, and much shorter, estimate based on his first-hand experience crossing the Pacific Ocean on the raft Kon-Tiki: “The nuts we had in baskets on deck remained edible and capable of germinating the whole way to Polynesia. But we had laid about half among the special provisions below deck, with the waves washing around them. Every single one of these was ruined by the sea water. And no coconut can float over the sea faster than a balsa raft moves with the wind behind it." He also notes that several of the nuts began to germinate by the time they had been ten weeks at sea, precluding an unassisted journey of 100 days or more. However, it is more than likely that the coconut variety Heyerdahl chose for his long sea voyage was of the large, fleshy, spherical niu vai type, which Harries observed to have a significantly shorter germination type and worse buoyancy than the uncultivated niu kafa type. Therefore Heyerdahl’s observations cannot be considered conclusive when it comes to determining the independent dispersal ability of the uncultivated coconut.

Drift models based on wind and ocean currents have shown that coconuts could not have drifted across the Pacific unaided. This provides some circumstantial evidence that Austronesian peoples carried coconuts across the ocean and that they could not have dispersed worldwide without human agency. More recently, genomic analysis of cultivated coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) has shed light on the movements of Austronesian peoples. By examining 10 microsatelite loci, researchers found two genetically distinct subpopulations of coconutâ€"one originating in the Indian Ocean, the other in the Pacific Ocean. However, admixture, the transfer of genetic material, evidently occurred between the two populations. Given that coconuts are ideally suited for ocean dispersal, individuals from one population possibly could have floated to the other. However, the locations of the admixture events are limited to Madagascar and coastal east Africa, and exclude the Seychelles. This pattern coincides with the known trade routes of Austronesian sailors. Additionally, a genetically distinct subpopulation of coconut on the Pacific coast of Latin America has undergone a genetic bottleneck resulting from a founder effect; however, its ancestral population is the Pacific coconut. This, together with their use of the South American sweet potato, suggests that Austronesian peoples may have sailed as far east as the Americas.

Distribution

The coconut has spread across much of the tropics, probably aided in many cases by seafaring people. Coconut fruit in the wild are light, buoyant and highly water resistant, and evolved to disperse significant distances via marine currents. Specimens have been collected from the sea as far north as Norway. In the Hawaiian Islands, the coconut is regarded as a Polynesian introduction, first brought to the islands by early Polynesian voyagers from their homelands in Oceania. They have been found in the Caribbean and the Atlantic coasts of Africa and South America for less than 500 years, but evidence of their presence on the Pacific coast of South America predates Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. They are now almost ubiquitous between 26°N and 26°S except for the interiors of Africa and South America.

Natural habitat

The coconut palm thrives on sandy soils and is highly tolerant of salinity. It prefers areas with abundant sunlight and regular rainfall (1500 mm to 2500 mm annually), which makes colonizing shorelines of the tropics relatively straightforward. Coconuts also need high humidity (70â€"80%+) for optimum growth, which is why they are rarely seen in areas with low humidity, like the southeastern Mediterranean or Andalusia (Spain), even where temperatures are high enough (regularly above 24 °C or 75.2 °F). However, they can be found in humid areas with low annual precipitation such as in Karachi, Pakistan, which receives only about 250 mm (9.84 in) of rainfall per year, but is consistently warm and humid.

Coconut palms require warm conditions for successful growth, and are intolerant of cold weather. Some seasonal variation is tolerated, with good growth where mean summer temperatures are between 28 and 37 °C (82 and 99 °F), and survival as long as winter temperatures are above 4â€"12 °C (39â€"54 °F); they will survive brief drops to 0 °C (32 °F). Severe frost is usually fatal, although they have been known to recover from temperatures of âˆ'4 °C (25 °F). They may grow but not fruit properly in areas with insufficient warmth, such as Bermuda.

The conditions required for coconut trees to grow without any care are:

• Mean daily temperature above 12â€"13 °C (53.6â€"55.4 °F) every day of the year
• Mean annual rainfall above 1,000 mm (39.37 in)
• No or very little overhead canopy, since even small trees require direct sun

The main limiting factor for most locations which satisfy the rainfall and temperature requirements is canopy growth, except those locations near coastlines, where the sandy soil and salt spray limit the growth of most other trees.

Diseases

Coconuts are susceptible to the phytoplasma disease lethal yellowing. One recently selected cultivar, the Maypan, has been bred for resistance to this disease.

Pests

The coconut palm is damaged by the larvae of many Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species which feed on it, including Batrachedra spp.: B. arenosella, B. atriloqua (feeds exclusively on C. nucifera), B. mathesoni (feeds exclusively on C. nucifera), and B. nuciferae.

Brontispa longissima (coconut leaf beetle) feeds on young leaves, and damages both seedlings and mature coconut palms. In 2007, the Philippines imposed a quarantine in Metro Manila and 26 provinces to stop the spread of the pest and protect the $800 million Philippine coconut industry.

The fruit may also be damaged by eriophyid coconut mites (Eriophyes guerreronis). This mite infests coconut plantations, and is devastating: it can destroy up to 90% of coconut production. The immature seeds are infested and desapped by larvae staying in the portion covered by the perianth of the immature seed; the seeds then drop off or survive deformed. Spraying with wettable sulfur 0.4% or with neem-based pesticides can give some relief, but is cumbersome and labor-intensive.

In Kerala (India), the main coconut pests are the coconut mite, the rhinoceros beetle, the red palm weevil and the coconut leaf caterpillar. Research on this topic has as of 2009 produced no results, and researchers from the Kerala Agricultural University and the Central Plantation Crop Research Institute, Kasaragode are still searching for a cure. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kannur under Kerala Agricultural University has developed an innovative extension approach called compact area group approach (CAGA) to combat coconut mites.

Cultivation

Coconut palms are grown in more than 90 countries of the world, with a total production of 62 million tonnes per year. Coconut trees are very hard to establish in dry climates, and cannot grow there without frequent irrigation; in drought conditions, the new leaves do not open well, and older leaves may become desiccated; fruit also tends to be shed.

The extent of cultivation in the tropics is threatening a number of habitats, such as mangroves; an example of such damage to an ecoregion is in the Petenes mangroves of the Yucatán.

Harvesting

In some parts of the world (Thailand and Malaysia), trained pig-tailed macaques are used to harvest coconuts. Training schools for pig-tailed macaques still exist both in southern Thailand, and in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. Competitions are held each year to find the fastest harvester.

India

Traditional areas of coconut cultivation in India are the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal and the islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar. Four southern states combined account for almost 92% of the total production in the country: Kerala (45.22%), Tamil Nadu (26.56%), Karnataka (10.85%), and Andhra Pradesh (8.93%). Other states, such as Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, and those in the northeast (Tripura and Assam) account for the remaining 8.44%. Kerala, which has the largest number of coconut trees, is famous for its coconut-based productsâ€"coconut water, copra, coconut oil, coconut cake (also called coconut meal, copra cake, or copra meal), coconut toddy, coconut shell-based products, coconut wood-based products, coconut leaves, and coir pith.

Various terms, such as copra and coir, are derived from the native Malayalam language. In Kerala, the coconut tree is called "Thengu" also termed as kalpa vriksham, which essentially means all parts of a coconut tree is useful some way or other.

Maldives

The coconut is the national tree of the Maldives and is considered the most important plant in the country. A coconut tree is also included in the country's national emblem or coat of arms. Coconut trees are grown on all the islands. Before modern construction methods were introduced, coconut leaves were used as roofing material for many houses in the islands, while coconut timber was used to build houses and boats.

Middle East

The main coconut-producing area in the Middle East is the Dhofar region of Oman, but they can be grown all along the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and Red Sea coasts, because these seas are tropical and provide enough humidity (through seawater evaporation) for coconut trees to grow. The young coconut plants need to be nursed and irrigated with drip pipes until they are old enough (stem bulb development) to be irrigated with brackish water or seawater alone, after which they can be replanted on the beaches. In particular, the area around Salalah maintains large coconut plantations similar to those found across the Arabian Sea in Kerala. The reasons why coconut are cultivated only in Yemen's Al Mahrah and Hadramaut governorates and in the Sultanate of Oman, but not in other suitable areas in the Arabian Peninsula, may originate from the fact that Oman and Hadramaut had long dhow trade relations with Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Africa and Zanzibar, as well as southern India and China. Omani people needed the coir rope from the coconut fiber to stitch together their traditional high seas-going dhow vessels in which nails were never used. The 'know how' of coconut cultivation and necessary soil fixation and irrigation may have found its way into Omani, Hadrami and Al-Mahra culture by people who returned from those overseas areas.

The coconut cultivars grown in Oman are generally of the drought-resistant Indian "West Coast tall" (WC Tall) variety. Unlike the UAE, which grows mostly non-native dwarf or hybrid coconut cultivars imported from Florida for ornamental purposes, the slender, tall Omani coconut cultivars are relatively well-adapted to the Middle East's hot dry seasons, but need longer to reach maturity. The Middle East's hot, dry climate favors the development of coconut mites, which cause immature seed dropping and may cause brownish-gray discoloration on the coconut's outer green fiber.

The ancient coconut groves of Dhofar were mentioned by the medieval Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta in his writings, known as Al Rihla. The annual rainy season known locally as Khareef or monsoon makes coconut cultivation easy on the Arabian east coast.

Coconut trees also are increasingly grown for decorative purposes along the coasts of the UAE and Saudi Arabia with the help of irrigation. The UAE has, however, imposed strict laws on mature coconut tree imports from other countries to reduce the spread of pests to other native palm trees, as the mixing of date and coconut trees poses a risk of cross-species palm pests, such as rhinoceros beetles and red palm weevils. The artificial landscaping adopted in Florida may have been the cause for lethal yellowing, a viral coconut palm disease that leads to the death of the tree. It is spread by host insects, that thrive on heavy turf grasses. Therefore, heavy turf grass environments (beach resorts and golf courses) also pose a major threat to local coconut trees. Traditionally, dessert banana plants and local wild beach flora such as Scaevola taccada and Ipomoea pes-caprae were used as humidity-supplying green undergrowth for coconut trees, mixed with sea almond and sea hibiscus. Due to growing sedentary life styles and heavy-handed landscaping, there has been a decline in these traditional farming and soil-fixing techniques.

Sri Lanka

An early mention of the planting of coconuts is found in the Mahavamsa during the reign of Agrabodhi II around 589 AD. Coconuts are common in the Sri Lankan diet and the main source of dietary fat.

United States

The only places in the United States where coconut palms can be grown and reproduced outdoors without irrigation are Hawaii, southern and central Florida, and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Coconut palms will grow from coastal Pinellas County and St. Petersburg southwards on Florida's west coast, and Melbourne southwards on Florida's east coast. The occasional coconut palm is seen north of these areas in favoured microclimates in Tampa and Clearwater, as well as around Cape Canaveral and Daytona Beach on the east coast. They reach fruiting maturity, but can be damaged or killed by the occasional winter freezes in these areas. They may also be grown in favoured microclimates in the Rio Grande Valley area of southern Texas near Brownsville, as well as along the upper northeast coast by Galveston Island, however more severe cold snaps keep them from producing viable fruit. While coconut palms flourish in southern Florida, rare cold snaps can injure coconut palms there, as well. Only the Florida Keys and the distant southern Atlantic coastlines near Miami provide safe havens from the cold for growing coconut palms on the mainland.

Australia

Coconuts are commonly grown around the northern coast of Australia, and in some warmer parts of New South Wales.

Bermuda

Most of the tall mature coconut trees found in Bermuda were shipped to the island as seedlings on the decks of ships. In more recent years, the importation of coconuts was prohibited, therefore, a large proportion of the younger trees have been propagated from locally grown coconuts.

In the winter months, the growth rate of coconut trees declines due to cooler temperatures and people have commonly attributed this to the reduced yield of coconuts in comparison to tropical regions. However, whilst cooler winter temperatures may be a factor in reducing fruit production, the primary reason for the reduced yield is a lack of water. Bermuda's soil is generally very shallow (1.5 to 3 feet) and much of a coconut tree's root mass is found in the porous limestone underneath the soil. Due to the porosity of the limestone, Bermuda's coconut trees do not generally have a sufficient supply of water with which they are able to support a large number of fruit as rain water quickly drains down through the limestone layer to the water table which is far too deep for a coconut's roots to reach. This typically leads to a reduction in fruit yield (sometimes as little as one or two mature fruits) as well as a reduced milk content inside the coconut that often causes the fruit to be infertile.

Conversely, trees growing in close proximity to the sea almost universally yield a much greater volume of fruit as they are able to tap directly into the sea water which permeates the limestone in such areas. Not only do these trees produce a significantly higher yield, but also the fruit itself tends to be far more fertile due to the higher milk content. Trees found growing in Bermuda's marshy inland areas enjoy a similar degree of success as they are also able to tap directly into a constant supply of water.

Cooler climates

In cooler climates (but not less than USDA Zone 9), a similar palm, the queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana), is used in landscaping. Its fruits are very similar to the coconut, but much smaller. The queen palm was originally classified in the genus Cocos along with the coconut, but was later reclassified in Syagrus. A recently discovered palm, Beccariophoenix alfredii from Madagascar, is nearly identical to the coconut, more so than the queen palm and can also be grown in slightly cooler climates than the coconut palm. Coconuts can only be grown in temperatures above 18 °C (64 °F) and need a daily temperature above 22 °C (72 °F) to produce fruit.

Overview of uses

The coconut palm is grown throughout the tropics for decoration, as well as for its many culinary and nonculinary uses; virtually every part of the coconut palm can be used by humans in some manner and has significant economic value. Coconuts' versatility is sometimes noted in its naming. In Sanskrit, it is kalpa vriksha ("the tree which provides all the necessities of life"). In the Malay language, it is pokok seribu guna ("the tree of a thousand uses"). In the Philippines, the coconut is commonly called the "tree of life".

Culinary use

The various parts of the coconut have a number of culinary uses. The seed provides oil for frying, cooking, and making margarine. The white, fleshy part of the seed, the coconut meat, is used fresh or dried in cooking, especially in confections and desserts such as macaroons. Desiccated coconut or coconut milk made from it is frequently added to curries and other savory dishes. Coconut flour has also been developed for use in baking, to combat malnutrition. Coconut chips have been sold in the tourist regions of Hawaii and the Caribbean. Coconut butter is often used to describe solidified coconut oil, but has also been adopted as a name by certain specialty products made of coconut milk solids or puréed coconut meat and oil. Dried coconut is also used as the filling for many chocolate bars. Some dried coconut is purely coconut but others are manufactured with other ingredients, such as sugar, propylene glycol, salt, and sodium metabisulfite. Some countries in South East Asia use special coconut mutant called Kopyor (in Indonesian) or macapuno (in Philippines) as a dessert drinks.

Nutrition

Per 100 gram serving with 354 calories, raw coconut meat supplies a high amount of total fat (33 grams), especially saturated fat (89% of total fat) and carbohydrates (24 grams) (table). Micronutrients in significant content include the dietary minerals, manganese, iron, phosphorus and zinc (table).

Coconut water

Coconut water serves as a suspension for the endosperm of the coconut during its nuclear phase of development. Later, the endosperm matures and deposits onto the coconut rind during the cellular phase. It is consumed throughout the humid tropics, and has been introduced into the retail market as a processed sports drink. Mature fruits have significantly less liquid than young, immature coconuts, barring spoilage. Coconut water can be fermented to produce coconut vinegar.

Per 100 gram (100 ml) serving, coconut water contains 19 calories and no significant content of essential nutrients (table).

Coconut milk

Coconut milk, not to be confused with coconut water, is obtained primarily by extracting juice by pressing the grated coconut white kernel or by passing hot water or milk through grated coconut, which extracts the oil and aromatic compounds. It has a fat content of around 23%. When refrigerated and left to set, coconut cream will rise to the top and separate from the milk. The milk can be used to produce virgin coconut oil by controlled heating and removal of the oil fraction.

A protein-rich powder can be processed from coconut milk following centrifugation, separation and spray drying.

Coconut oil

Another byproduct of the coconut is coconut oil. It is commonly used in cooking, especially for frying. It can be used in liquid form as would other vegetable oils, or in solid form as would butter or lard.

Toddy and nectar

The sap derived from incising the flower clusters of the coconut is drunk as neera, also known as toddy or tuba (Philippines), tuak (Indonesia and Malaysia) or karewe (fresh and not fermented, collected twice a day, for breakfast and dinner) in Kiribati. When left to ferment on its own, it becomes palm wine. Palm wine is distilled to produce arrack. In the Philippines, this alcoholic drink is called lambanog or "coconut vodka".

The sap can be reduced by boiling to create a sweet syrup or candy such as te kamamai in Kiribati or dhiyaa hakuru and addu bondi in the Maldives. It can be reduced further to yield coconut sugar also referred to as palm sugar or jaggery. A young, well-maintained tree can produce around 300 liters (66 imp gal; 79 U.S. gal) of toddy per year, while a 40-year-old tree may yield around 400 liters (88 imp gal; 110 U.S. gal).

Heart of palm and coconut sprout

Apical buds of adult plants are edible, and are known as "palm cabbage" or heart of palm. They are considered a rare delicacy, as harvesting the buds kills the palms. Hearts of palm are eaten in salads, sometimes called "millionaire's salad". Newly germinated coconuts contain an edible fluff of marshmallow-like consistency called coconut sprout, produced as the endosperm nourishes the developing embryo.

Indonesia

Coconut is an indispensable ingredient in Indonesian cooking. Coconut meat, coconut milk and coconut water are often used in main courses, desserts and soups throughout the archipelago. In the island of Sumatra, the famous Rendang, the traditional beef stew from West Sumatra, chunks of beef are cooked in coconut milk along with other spices for hours until thickened. In Jakarta, "Soto Babat" or beef tripe soup also uses coconut milk. In the island of Java, the sweet and savoury "Tempe Bacem" is made by cooking tempeh with coconut water, coconut sugar and other spices until thickened. "Klapertart" is the famous Dutch-influenced dessert from Manado, North Celebes, that uses young coconut meat and coconut milk. In 2010, Indonesia increased its coconut production. It is now the world's second largest producer of coconuts. The gross production was 15 million tonnes. A sprouting coconut seed is the logo for Gerakan Pramuka Indonesia, the Indonesian Scouting organization. It can be seen on all the scouting paraphernalia that elementary (SMA) school children wear as well as on the scouting pins and flags.

Philippines

The Philippines is one of the world's largest producer of coconuts; the production of coconuts plays an important role in the economy. Coconuts in the Philippines are usually used in making main dishes, refreshments and desserts. Coconut juice is also a popular drink in the country. In the Philippines, particularly Cebu, rice is wrapped in coconut leaves for cooking and subsequent storage; these packets are called puso. Coconut milk, known as gata, and grated coconut flakes are used in the preparation of dishes such as laing, ginataan, bibingka, ube halaya, pitsi-pitsi, palitaw, buko and coconut pie. Coconut jam is made by mixing muscovado sugar with coconut milk. Coconut sport fruits are also harvested. One such variety of coconut is known as macapuno. Its meat is sweetened, cut into strands and sold in glass jars as coconut strings, sometimes labeled as "gelatinous mutant coconut". Coconut water can be fermented to make a different productâ€"nata de coco (coconut gel).

Vietnam

In Vietnam, coconut is grown abundantly across Central and Southern Vietnam, and especially in Bến Tre Province, often called the "land of the coconut". It is used to make coconut candy, caramel, and jelly. Coconut juice and coconut milk are used, especially in Vietnam's southern style of cooking, including kho, chè and curry (cà ri).

India

In southern India, most common way of cooking vegetables is to add grated coconut and then steam them with spices fried in oil. People from southern India also make chutney, which involves grinding the coconut with salt, chillies, and whole spices. Uruttu chammanthi (granulated chutney) is eaten with rice or kanji (rice gruel). It is also invariably the main side dish served with idli, vadai, and dosai. Coconut ground with spices is also mixed in sambar and other various lunch dishes for extra taste. Dishes garnished with grated coconut are generally referred to as poduthol in North Malabar and thoran in rest of Kerala. Puttu is a culinary delicacy of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in which layers of coconut alternate with layers of powdered rice, all of which fit into a bamboo stalk. Recently, this has been replaced with a steel or aluminium tube, which is then steamed over a pot. Coconut (Tamil: தேங்காய்) is regularly broken in the middle-class families in Tamil Nadu for food. Coconut meat can be eaten as a snack sweetened with jaggery or molasses. In Karnataka sweets are prepared using coconut and dry coconut "copra"., Like Kaie Obattu, Kobri mitai etc.

Commercial, industrial, and household use

Cultivars

Coconut has a number of commercial and traditional cultivars. They can be sorted mainly into tall cultivars, dwarf cultivars and hybrid cultivars (hybrids between talls and dwarfs). Some of the dwarf cultivars such as Malayan dwarf has shown some promising resistance to lethal yellowing while other cultivars such as Jamaican tall is highly affected by the same plant disease. Some cultivars are more drought resistant such as West coast tall (India) while others such as Hainan Tall (China) are more cold tolerant. Other aspects such as seed size, shape and weight and copra thickness are also important factors in the selection of new cultivars. Some cultivars such as Fiji dwarf form a large bulb at the lower stem and others are cultivated to produce very sweet coconut water with orange coloured husks (king coconut) used entirely in fruit stalls for drinking (Sri Lanka, India).

Coir

Coir (the fiber from the husk of the coconut) is used in ropes, mats, door mats, brushes, sacks, caulking for boats, and as stuffing fiber for mattresses. It is used in horticulture in potting compost, especially in orchid mix.

Coconut fronds

The stiff mid-ribs of coconut leaves are used for making brooms in India, Indonesia (sapu lidi), Malaysia, the Maldives and the Philippines (walis tingting). The green of the leaves (lamina) are stripped away, leaving the veins (wood-like, thin, long strips) which are tied together to form a broom or brush. A long handle made from some other wood may be inserted into the base of the bundle and used as a two-handed broom. The leaves also provide material for baskets that can draw well water and for roofing thatch; they can be woven into mats, cooking skewers, and kindling arrows, as well. Two leaves (especially the younger, yellowish shoots) woven into a tight shell the size of the palm are filled with rice and cooked to make ketupat. Dried coconut leaves can be burned to ash, which can be harvested for lime. In India, the woven coconut leaves are used as pandals (temporary sheds) for marriage functions especially in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

Copra

Copra is the dried meat of the seed and after processing produces coconut oil and coconut meal. Coconut oil, aside from being used in cooking as an ingredient and for frying, is used in soaps, cosmetics, hair-oil, and massage oil. Coconut oil is also a main ingredient in Ayurvedic oils. In Vanuatu coconut palms for copra production are generally spaced 9 meters apart, allowing a tree density of 100â€"160 trees per hectare.

Husks and shells

The husk and shells can be used for fuel and are a source of charcoal. Activated carbon manufactured from coconut shell is considered extremely effective for the removal of impurities. The coconut's obscure origin in foreign lands led to the notion of using cups made from the shell to neutralise poisoned drinks. The cups were frequently engraved and decorated with precious metals.

A dried half coconut shell with husk can be used to buff floors. It is known as a bunot in the Philippines and simply a "coconut brush" in Jamaica. The fresh husk of a brown coconut may serve as a dish sponge or body sponge.

In Asia, coconut shells are also used as bowls and in the manufacture of various handicrafts, including buttons carved from dried shell. Coconut buttons are often used for Hawaiian aloha shirts. Tempurung as the shell is called in the Malay language can be used as a soup bowl andâ€"if fixed with a handleâ€"a ladle. In Thailand, the coconut husk is used as a potting medium to produce healthy forest tree saplings. The process of husk extraction from the coir bypasses the retting process, using a custom-built coconut husk extractor designed by ASEANâ€"Canada Forest Tree Seed Centre (ACFTSC) in 1986. Fresh husks contains more tannin than old husks. Tannin produces negative effects on sapling growth. In parts of South India, the shell and husk are burned for smoke to repel mosquitoes.

Half coconut shells are used in theatre Foley sound effects work, banged together to create the sound effect of a horse's hoofbeats. Dried half shells are used as the bodies of musical instruments, including the Chinese yehu and banhu, along with the Vietnamese Ä'àn gáo and Arabo-Turkic rebab. In the Philippines, dried half shells are also used as a music instrument in a folk dance called maglalatik.

In World War II, coastwatcher scout Biuki Gasa was the first of two from the Solomon Islands to reach the shipwrecked and wounded crew of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 commanded by future U.S. president John F. Kennedy. Gasa suggested, for lack of paper, delivering by dugout canoe a message inscribed on a husked coconut shell. This coconut was later kept on the president's desk, and is now in the John F. Kennedy Library.

Coconut trunk

Coconut trunks are used for building small bridges and huts; they are preferred for their straightness, strength, and salt resistance. In Kerala, coconut trunks are used for house construction. Coconut timber comes from the trunk, and is increasingly being used as an ecologically sound substitute for endangered hardwoods. It has applications in furniture and specialized construction, as notably demonstrated in Manila's Coconut Palace.

Hawaiians hollowed the trunk to form drums, containers, or small canoes. The "branches" (leaf petioles) are strong and flexible enough to make a switch. The use of coconut branches in corporal punishment was revived in the Gilbertese community on Choiseul in the Solomon Islands in 2005.

Coconut roots

The roots are used as a dye, a mouthwash, and a medicine for diarrhea and dysentery. A frayed piece of root can also be used as a toothbrush.

Use in beauty products

Coconuts are used in the beauty industry in moisturisers and body butters because coconut oil, due to its chemical structure, is readily absorbed by the skin. The coconut shell may also be ground down and added to products for exfoliation of dead skin. Coconut is also a source of lauric acid, which can be processed in a particular way to produce sodium lauryl sulfate, a detergent used in shower gels and shampoos. The nature of lauric acid as a fatty acid makes it particularly effective for creating detergents and surfactants.

Role in culture and religion

In the Ilocos region of northern Philippines, the Ilocano people fill two halved coconut shells with diket (cooked sweet rice), and place liningta nga itlog (halved boiled egg) on top of it. This ritual, known as niniyogan, is an offering made to the deceased and one's ancestors. This accompanies the palagip (prayer to the dead).

A coconut (Sanskrit: nalikera) is an essential element of rituals in Hindu tradition. Often it is decorated with bright metal foils and other symbols of auspiciousness. It is offered during worship to a Hindu god or goddess. Irrespective of their religious affiliations, fishermen of India often offer it to the rivers and seas in the hopes of having bountiful catches. Hindus often initiate the beginning of any new activity by breaking a coconut to ensure the blessings of the gods and successful completion of the activity. The Hindu goddess of well-being and wealth, Lakshmi, is often shown holding a coconut. In the foothills of the temple town of Palani, before going to worship Murugan for the Ganesha, coconuts are broken at a place marked for the purpose. Every day, thousands of coconuts are broken, and some devotees break as many as 108 coconuts at a time as per the prayer. In tantric practices, coconuts are sometimes used as substitutes for human skulls.

In Hindu wedding ceremonies, a coconut is placed over the opening of a pot, representing a womb. Coconut flowers are auspicious symbols and are fixtures at Hindu and Buddhist weddings and other important occasions. In Kerala, coconut flowers must be present during a marriage ceremony. The flowers are inserted into a barrel of unhusked rice (paddy) and placed within sight of the wedding ceremony. Similarly in Sri Lanka, coconut flowers, standing in brass urns, are placed in prominent positions.

The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club of New Orleans traditionally throws hand-decorated coconuts, the most valuable of Mardi Gras souvenirs, to parade revelers. The "Tramps" began the tradition circa 1901. In 1987, a "coconut law" was signed by Gov. Edwards exempting from insurance liability any decorated coconut "handed" from a Zulu float.

The coconut is also used as a target and prize in the traditional British fairground game "coconut shy". The player buys some small balls which he throws as hard as he can at coconuts balanced on sticks. The aim is to knock a coconut off the stand and win it.

It was the main food of adherents of the now discontinued Vietnamese religion Đạo Dừa in Bến Tre.

Myths and legends

Some South Asian, Southeast Asian and Pacific Ocean cultures have origin myths in which the coconut plays the main role. In the Hainuwele myth from Maluku, a girl emerges from the blossom of a coconut tree. In Maldivian folklore one of the main myths of origin reflects the dependence of the Maldivians on the coconut tree.

According to an urban legend, there are more deaths caused by falling coconuts than by sharks annually.

Other uses

The leftover fiber from coconut oil and coconut milk production, coconut meal, is used as livestock feed. The dried calyx is used as fuel in wood-fired stoves. Coconut water is traditionally used as a growth supplement in plant tissue culture/micropropagation. The smell of coconuts comes from the 6-pentyloxan-2-one molecule, known as delta-decalactone in the food and fragrance industries.

Tool and shelter for animals

Researchers from the Melbourne Museum in Australia observed the octopus species Amphioctopus marginatus use of tools, specifically coconut shells, for defense and shelter. The discovery of this behavior was observed in Bali and North Sulawesi in Indonesia between 1998 and 2008. Amphioctopus marginatus is the first invertebrate known to be able to use tools.

A coconut can be hollowed out and used as a home for a rodent or small birds. Halved, drained coconuts can also be hung up as bird feeders, and after the flesh has gone, can be filled with fat in winter to attract tits.

Allergies

Food allergies

Coconut can be a food allergen although its prevalence varies from country to country. While coconut is one of the top-five food allergies in India where it is a common food source, such allergies to coconut are considered rare in Australia, the UK, and the United States. As a result, commercial extracts of coconut are not currently available for skin prick testing in Australia or New Zealand.

Despite a low prevalence of allergies to coconut in the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began identifying coconuts in October 2006. Based on FDA guidance and federal U.S. law, coconut must be disclosed as an ingredient.

Topical allergies

Coconut-derived products can cause contact dermatitis. They can be present in cosmetics, including some shampoos, moisturizers, soaps, cleansers and hand washing liquids. Those known to cause contact dermatitis include: coconut diethanolamide, cocamide sulphate, cocamide DEA, CDEA, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauroyl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, sodium cocoyl sarcosinate, potassium coco hydrolysed collagen, triethanolamine laureth sulfate, caprylic/capric triglycerides, triethanolamine lauryl or cocoyl sarcosime, disodium oleamide sulfocuccinate, laureth sulfasuccinate, and disodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate.

See also

• Coir Board of India
• Death by coconut
• Ravanahatha
• Voanioala gerardii â€" forest coconut, the closest relative of the modern coconut

References

Further reading

• Adkins S.W., M. Foale and Y.M.S. Samosir (eds.) (2006). Coconut revival â€" new possibilities for the ‘tree of life’. Proceedings of the International Coconut Forum held in Cairns, Australia, November 22â€"24, 2005. ACIAR Proceedings No. 125. ISBN 1-86320-515-2
• Batugal, P., V.R. Rao and J. Oliver (2005). Coconut Genetic Resources. Bioversity International. ISBN 978-92-9043-629-4. 
• Frison, E.A.; Putter, C.A.J.; Diekmann, M. (eds.). (1993). Coconut. ISBN 978-92-9043-156-5.
• International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI). (1995). Descriptors for Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.). ISBN 978-92-9043-215-9.
• Mathur, P.N.; Muralidharan, K.; Parthasarathy, V.A.; Batugal, P.; Bonnot, F. (2008). Data Analysis Manual for Coconut Researchers. ISBN 978-92-9043-736-9.
• Salunkhe, D.K., J.K. Chavan, R.N. Adsule, and S.S. Kadam. (1992). World Oilseeds â€" Chemistry, Technology, and Utilization. Springer. ISBN 978-0-442-00112-4.

External links

• Coconut Research Center
• Coconut Time Line
• Cocos nucifera information from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR)
• Palmtalk
• Plant Cultures: botany, history and uses of the coconut
• Purdue University crop pages: Cocos nucifera