Close your eyes and imagine an idyllic Caribbean island. Odds are you are envisioning a calm blue sea, white sand beaches, lush green foliage, a mountain enshrouded in clouds, a waterfall or two, and tall coconut palms. If this description comes close, join the crowd.
For me, of all these pleasure cues, the quintessential symbol of tropical paradise is the coconut palm. Tall or short, straight or twisted trunk, clustered or standing all alone, the coconut palm is one of the most ornamental and iconic objects in all of the plant kingdom.
In the real world, for those inhabiting tropical seacoasts worldwide, the coconut palm offers shade, drink, food, and shelter. Remarkably, virtually every part of the coconut palm is used by humans in some capacity — for individual needs and on industrial scale — creating a global market worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually — setting it alone in the Arecaceae palm family.
One oceanfront property near our house has its entire perimeter delineated by coconut palms; swimming offshore, the stand of trees is poetic. I rode my bicycle recently past Riomar Country Club, stopping to enjoy the gorgeous view of green fairways and tall coconut palms extending eastward to the ocean. On our own property, we planted seven coconut palms to make them part of our lives. One neighbor behind us has three very tall coconut palms in their backyard, which we see from our living room, producing a stunning visual effect that perfectly complements our style of living.
Plant Description
The coconut tree — Cocos nucifera — is the only living species of the genus Cocos. The name is old Portuguese meaning “head” or “skull,” which refer to three round indentations on the de-husked coconut fruit shell resembling facial features.
Many coconut palm varieties exist given its global distribution, manifested by differences in denseness of crown, length of leaf, size and quality of fruit, and height. Some specimens tower in the air on curving and angular trunks, while other, thicker, stocky varieties produce especially delicious coconuts that can be reached from the ground.
The single trunk rises to terminate in a crown of pinnate leaves, with clusters of nuts hanging beneath. The tallest will reach 100 feet. In Florida, two to three dwarf varieties dominate, growing anywhere from 15 to 30 feet.
Each leaf is composed of a large, woody midrib, edged with slender leaflets, giving the whole frond the appearance of a giant feather. That said, leaves can be 20 feet long and weigh enough to make lifting them difficult. Cutting the midrib requires a robust saw. As the tree grows taller, older, lower fronds break cleanly from the trunk and fall to the ground, with new leaves sprouting from the top. Thus, coconut palms never have an unsightly collar of dangling dead leaves, as some palms do.
Whereas many trees have a tap root, palm trees have a fibrous root system composed of a network of thin roots (at most an inch in diameter) that grow outward symmetrically near the surface (one to three feet deep). Roots will spread far away from the trunk, as needed, to find sufficient water and nutrients. While the root system is not overly invasive, the fibrous nature of the trunk — typically wet on the inside — combined with the fibrous root system allow palms to bend easily in strong wind and remain anchored.
Fruit and Uses
The flower is produced within a long woody spathe, or sheathing, resembling a canoe pointed on both ends. The bloom eventually expands and breaks free from the spathe, turning from ivory to brown on exposure to light. In time the bloom produces a cluster of ten to twenty coconuts, which reach full maturity in under a year. The coconut palm functions independent of seasons, so one will find enclosed scathes, new blossoms, baby nuts, immature nuts, and ripe nuts all on the same tree at the same time.
Coconut palms produce their first fruit in six to ten years, reaching peak production in 15 to 20 years. In optimal growing conditions, trees can produce 75 fruits annually, but more commonly fewer than 30.
Botanically, the coconut fruit is a drupe, not a nut. Like other fruits, it has three layers. The outermost layer is the glossy skin, transitioning in color with maturity from green to yellow to brown. The middle layer is composed of a fiber, called coir. Together these two layers make up the husk. Removing the husk, one is left with the hard coconut shell, containing, in various stages, liquid and meat. It is this surface that contains the three pores resembling facial features.
Coconuts first contain a clear liquid referred to as coconut “water.” As development continues, cellular layers of water deposit along the walls of the shell producing coconut “flesh” or “meat,” which hardens over time. What you find when you open a coconut shell depends upon its point of maturity at that moment.
The early stage of coconut meat is custard-like and eaten as is, or used in salads, drinks, desserts, and pastries. More mature coconut meat has a tough texture and is grated, shredded, and flaked for consumption. Notably, it is this product, when pressed with hot water added, that yields coconut “milk,” used for cooking various dishes (e.g., curries and stews). If coconut milk is allowed to stand in a cool place, “cream” will rise on it (similar to fresh cow’s milk). Finally, copra results from drying the meat and is processed industrially for coconut oil and meal, used in cooking and to make soaps, cosmetics, and oils.
The succulence and allure of the coconut are captured nicely in the writings of Euell Gibbons — described in his time as a contemporary Thoreau — in his Beachcomber’s Handbook (1967), written to chronicle his years of living off the land in Hawaii.
“Coconut water, the clear, cool liquid from the green coconut, is the natural, God-given beverage of the tropics, needing no processing or flavoring, or even a container in which to pour it, for it is best drunk directly from the huge green fruit that produces it.” “The perfect drinking nut is full-sized but immature, darkgreen, without a trace of the yellow color that characterizes the ripening nut. The husk will be crisp and juicy at the stem end and can be sliced away with one stroke of a sharp machete. The finest drinking nuts are so tightly filled with liquid that one can hear no sloshing when the nut is shaken . . . The water in these perfect nuts has a little “bite,” as if it had been slightly carbonated, and this adds to its refreshing quality.” “Coconuts in prime drinking stage never fall to the ground themselves, but must be plucked from the tree . . .” “After your drinking nut is emptied, it can be split open with a single stroke of a sharp machete. Inside, next to the hardening shell, you will find a thin layer of soft, jelly-like meat that is nature’s own custard. This is called spoon-meat in Hawaii, and it is one of the coconut’s finest products, but unfortunately there is very little of it. It would take several coconuts to yield a cupful. Still, I hate to see anything go to waste, so I usually split my empty drinking nuts open and eat the sweet, translucent meat with a spoon or a small section of the coconut shell.”
Care and Maintenance
The coconut palm is best suited to sandy soils, abundant sunlight, and regular rainfall. It also needs high humidity for optimum growth. The palms are extremely salt tolerant — thus their ubiquitous seaside presence. Even small specimens require direct sunlight, so overhead canopy of any sort is not tolerated.
Coconut palms, while needing lots of water, do not like wet feet. New trees should be planted well away from the house — 10 feet or more — to allow the fronds to open out. Fertilizer should be applied three times per year — once each spring, summer, and fall. There are dedicated palm fertilizers on the market to choose from. Pests include mealybugs and coconut scale, a white scaly fungus. Globally, lethal yellowing is a prominent disease destroying plants on a huge scale.
Comments