Cocos nucifera

Cocos nucifera

Family: Arecaceae

Common name: Coconut tree

Cocos nucifera, commonly known as the coconut palm, is a single-trunked palm with a branchless, often curved, light-grey trunk that swells at the base. The trunk is topped by a crown of pinnate, downward-arching green fronds. Fragrant yellow flowers appear in elongated clusters and bloom intermittently throughout the year. Female flowers give rise to single-seeded coconuts, which are surrounded by a fibrous husk that encloses a woody shell containing coconut meat, milk, and oil—all of which are used in a wide range of food products.

Coconut water, the liquid found inside green coconuts, is commonly consumed as a refreshing drink. The coconut meat can be eaten raw or cooked, while dried coconut meat, known as copra, is crushed to extract coconut oil, with the remaining residue used as animal feed. Coconut oil is widely used in cooking, cosmetics, soaps, and margarine. The growing tip of the palm can be harvested and sold as heart of palm.

Additionally, various parts of the coconut tree have diverse uses: the trunk is used in construction, the fronds are woven into baskets and used for thatching, the endosperm (coconut meat) is employed in cosmetics, and the sap is tapped to make palm sugar or toddy.