The scientific name for coconut is Cocos nucifera. Early Spanish explorers called it coco, which means “monkey face” because the three indentations (eyes) on the hairy nut resemble the head and face of a monkey. Nucifera means “nut-bearing.” Coconut is actually tall, erect, single-stemmed, monoecious palm, up to 30 m tall, with a slender, more or less curved or inclined, stout trunk, 30–45 cm diameter marked with leaf scars, arising rising from a swollen base surrounded by mass of adventitious roots. 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 non-tropical countries often have had the exocarp (outermost layer) removed. Coconut palms are grown all over the tropics, and their taste of meat and flavor of water therefore may vary according to saline content of the soil, distance from sea-shore, amount of rain-fall, etc.
| Name | Coconut |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Cocos nucifera |
| Native | Native to coastal areas of southeast Asia |
| Common/English Name | Coconut, Coconut Palm |
| Name in Other Languages | Nepalese: Narival Ethiopia: Kokas Turkish: Hindistancevizi Palauan: Iru Albania: Arre kokosi Banaban: Te Ni Yap: Lu Brazil: Coco Persian: Nârgil Bulgarian: Kokos Italian: Cocco Chinese: Ye Zi Polish: Kokos Icelandic: Kokoshenta Chuuk: Nu Khmer: Doung Dutch: Kokos Russian: Kokos Arabic: Gawz El Hind South Africa: Khokhonate Finnish: Kookospähkinä Pohnpei: Ni French: Coco Ukrainian: Kokos Japanese: Koko Yashi Taiwan: Ke Ke Ye Zi Guam: Niyog Hawaii: Ō‘Io Cook Islands: Nu Spanish: Coco Hebrew: Kokus Rotuman: Niu Vietnamese: Dừa India: Narikol Burmese: Mak Un On Indonesia: Bhungkana Czech: Kokos Romanian: Cocotier Kenya: Dafu Estonian: Kookospalm German: Kokos Society Islands: Ha‘Ari Kiribati: Te Ni Guyana: Coconut Polynesia: Niu Croatian: Kokosov Orah Tanzania: Dafu Kosrae: Lu Zaire: Dafu Papua New Guinea: Kokonas Laotian: Kok Mak Phao Fijian: Niu Swahili: Mnazi Portuguese: Coco Da Bahia Slovenian: Kokos Malaysia: Kelapa Danish: Kokos Marshall Islands: Ni Thai: Dung (Chong-Chan-Thaburi) Korean: K’o K’o Neos Sri Lanka: Polgaha North Mariana Islands: Nizok Swedish: Kokos Australia: Kunga Philippines: Lubi Hungarian: Kókusz Armenian: Hantkakan Engouz Greek: Kokkofoinika Isle of Man: Crobainery |
| Plant Growth Habit | Tall, erect, single-stemmed, monoecious palm |
| Growing Climate | Thrives best in full sun |
| Soil | Adaptable to wide range of soil types light, medium and heavy, – peaty soil, sandy, calcareous, saline to clayey soils. It tolerates alkaline soils. Although coarse sand is its natural habitat, best growth is obtained on free draining, deep soils with good physical and chemical properties. It is thus widely grown on loams as well as clays that are well drained. Coconut is intolerant of water-logging will not survive more than 2 weeks of surface water-logging. Coconut tolerates drought poorly. |
| Plant Size | 30 m (98 ft) tall |
| Root | Fibrous root system |
| Trunk | Slender, more or less curved or inclined, stout trunk, 30–45 cm diameter |
| Leaf | Frond-like, 2–6 m long, clustered at top of trunk, pinnatisect |
| Leaflets | 0.6–1 m long, narrow, linear-lanceolate, bright green, inserted on rachis in 2 ranks. |
| Flower | The palm produces both the female and male flowers on the same inflorescence; thus, the palm is monoecious. Male flowers with six creamy-yellow perianth segments surrounding six Stamens, pistillode topped by 3 nectar glands. Female flowers, sweet-scented, larger, globose, with 6 creamy-yellow perianth segment in two whorls, with 6 staminodes, 3-locule ovary, and a trifid stigma. |
| Fruit Shape & Size | Elongated, ovoid, ellipsoid to almost spherical |
| Fruit Weight | Weigh between 0.85 and 3.7 kg |
| Fruit Color | Light green when young, which becomes dry and turn gray as the nut matures |
| Fruit Skin | About 1-2 inches in thickness and made of tough fibers. |
| Flesh Color | White |
| Taste | Mild and Sweet |
| Seed | Seed comprises the dark brown shell, kernel, cavity and embryo. |
| Major Nutrition | Total Fat (lipid) 26.79 g (76.54%) Manganese, Mn 1.2 mg (52.17%) Copper, Cu 0.348 mg (38.67%) Iron, Fe 1.94 mg (24.25%) Total dietary Fiber 7.2 g (18.95%) Selenium, Se 8.1 µg (14.73%) Phosphorus, P 90 mg (12.86%) Carbohydrate 12.18 g (9.37%) Zinc, Zn 0.88 mg (8.00%) Valine 0.162 g (7.67%) |
| Health Benefits |
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| Calories in 1 cup (80 gm) | 283 K cal |