Coconut — Cocos nucifera

The coconut palm is so familiar that we forget how unusual it is. Its fruit floats, travels on currents and takes root on whatever shore it reaches. It is a plant designed for the sea’s edge.

What the tree knows

It grows in sandy, salty ground where most crops fail. Its trunk is flexible and bends in storms instead of breaking. Its fronds channel light and shed rain. Throughout the islands, almost every part of the palm is put to use, which is why it is often called the tree of life.

On an island, nothing is wasted. The coconut taught that first.

From the palm to the ritual

Coconut oil, pressed from the dried kernel, is the base of one of the oldest island gestures: monoï, in which fragrant flowers are steeped in oil. It is a Polynesian tradition, and it explains why flower, oil and skin have been linked for so long across the Pacific.

The file

• Botanical name — Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae)
• Range — tropical coasts worldwide
• Conditions it endures — sand, salt, wind, heat, storms
• Part studied — the kernel oil
• Status at YNFUSE — under study

Sources

• Plants of the World Online (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) — Cocos nucifera
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Plant Finder — Cocos nucifera