The Coconut Tree (Cocos nucifera) is a flowering palm tree in the Arecaceae family. It originated from the Central Indo-Pacific region.
Coconut refers to the whole tree, the seed, or the fruit. It is not a true nut – it is a drupe. Coco means head or skull.
The tree grows to about 30 metres (100 feet) tall.
It can produce up to 75 fruit – coconuts – each year.
It has pinnate leaves about 4-6 metres (13-20 feet) long.
The flower develops in a large green bud, called a spathe. The bud splits open as the flowers are growing. The branches have hundreds of small male lily-like flowers and a few mini-coconut-like female flowers.
Once the female flowers are pollinated, they take about 10 months to become coconuts. Not all fertilized flowers reach full maturity.
The Coconut Tree blooms year-round.
Photographed in Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 2017.
The Indian Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) eats young nuts and fruit from the Coconut Tree.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
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