This fruit coconut is primarily grown in the ontinent of Asia and Africa, its region of origin, on small family farms. The nuts, which are available all year round, are consumed in the region in the form of coconut milk. They are also used to produce copra and its by-product, coconut oil which we know as groundnuts oil. Some 8million smallholders worldwide rely on the coconut value for a living, but it faces a range of issues: copra's reduced competitiveness, competition from palm kernel oil, and the development of lethal diseases that can wipe out coconut plantations within a few years.
Summary....
Coconut, tree of life
Shot and Tall coconut palms
Coconut, a plant that fruits all year round
Pests and diseases
Copra oil and virgin coconut oil
Palm cabbages, palm wine etc..
Coconut is a large palm that fruits all year round. It is grown throughout the humid tropical zone, particularly in coastal regions but also up to 900 metres above sea level. It is often grown in places that are difficult to use for other crops. Coconut is of vital importance for millions of growers and has many benefits: fresh coconuts, food oil, building material, fuel, etc.
Coconut, tree of life
This fruit (Coconut), Cocos nucifera, from the Latin nux (nut) and fero (I carry), is a large palm of the family Arecaceae. It grows in the subtropical coastal regions of Asia (India, Philippines, Nigeria, Thailand, Indonesia) and Oceania, where it originates.
The leaves, or fronds, are emitted continuously from a single terminal bud.. Coconut palms have a crown of around thirty green fronds. Each frond is 5 to 8 metres long and has around 250 leaflets either side of the rachis.
The stem grows vertically non-stop. The more stripes it has, the older the palm. The base starts from an inverted cone, called the "root bulb", from which 2000 to 4500 ramified primary roots branch out, anchoring the palm in the soil to protect it from heavy winds.
The inflorescences comprise spikelets bearing female flowers at the base and male flowers towards the tip. The fruits, which develop in the axil of each frond, are known as drupes.
The nuts comprise a smooth epidermis whose colour depends on the variety and the stage of ripening, covering a thick fibrous layer, known as the "husk". It is this fibrous layer that covers the actual seed: a nut with a very hard shell. The shell surrounds the albumen, an oil-bearing kernel of varying thickness.
