Scientific name - Cocos nucifera

Synonyms --

Popular names - English: coconut, coconut palm, Palau: IRU, New Guinea: Niu, Portuguese: coco da Bahia, coco da India, Romanian: coconut; Spanish: cocotero, Palma de coco, German: Kokospalme, Philippines - niyog, Russian : Kokos, China: Yeh Tzu.

Distribution and Habitat - originally from the coasts of South Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines) and Melanesia.

Description - Palm mono, with one strain. Trunk erect, gray, 20 m high and 50 cm in diameter. Paripenat-leaves are compound, folio 200-250 pairs of linear-lanceolata. 4,5-5,5 m long Frondele and stalks are covered quarter length. Foliolele have 1,5-5 cm wide. Ribbed rachides may be green or bronze. About 12-18 leaves per year increase in November. Flowers arranged in blossom typespadix. Spadix's axis is 1-1.5 m long by 40-60 arms. Periantul composed of male flowers have 6 tepale, 3.2 x 3.5 mm, unequal, nested, triangulation, 6 stamens. Female flowers are global periantului elements arranged on two rows, 30 mm diameter, ovary tricarpelar. Periantul persist in the mature fruit. Fruit drupe, epicarp smooth endocarp 2-5 mm thick, fibrous mezocarp ellipsoidal, 3 angles, green, brown, orange or yellow, 850-3700 g at maturity. The seeds are dark brown, usually is a single seed. n = 16. Per year produces about 50-80 fruit.

Requirements - Minimum temperature 4.12 ° C, maximum temperature 28-37 ° C, atmospheric humidity of 85%. Tolerate temperatures of 0 ° C, alkaline soil pH above 8 and acidic soils of pH 4-5 or higher. Ideal pH is between 5,5-7. Prefers light soils and exhibitions sunny. Fertilization to 2 weeks.

Propagation

Diseases and pests - Lepidoptera, defoliation of Cocosului. Psychidae species, Gelechioidea, and consume only Zygaenidae superficial tissues, causing necrotic areas on the underside of leaves.

Natural partners and Garden

Cultivars and varieties - 'Ceylon Tall', 'Indian Tall', 'Jamaica Tall'.

Properties and Uses - Coconut oil is used in cosmetics for skin ingirjirea. Water from ripe seeds are diuretic. Immature core is laxative. The liquid inside the seeds is used as a beverage. The oil extracted from the seed core is used for cooking, margarine, ice cream.

100 g coconut contains: 346 calories, 3.5 g protein, 35 g fat, 9.4 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 13 mg calcium, 95 mg phosphorus, 1.7 mg iron, 23 mg sodium, 256 mg potassium.

100 g coconut milk contains: 22 calories, 0.3 protein, 0.2 fat, 4.7 carbs, 20 mg step, 13 mg phosphorus, 25 mg sodium, 147 mg potassium.

Where can adapt to climate conditions can be used as ornamental trees for alignment. Have removed the dried leaves and inflorescences to not cause damage.

  Cocos sp. resembles very much Syagrus sp., Cocos nucifera differentiate themselves through very large female flowers tepale round fruit with mezocarp fiber, and endosperm in the central cavity partially filled with fluid.

References

Babasaheb B. Desai - Seeds Handbook - CRC, 2004

Beatrice H. Krauss, Martha Noyes - Plants in Hawaiian Medicine - Bess Press, 2001

David Pimentel - Encyclopedia of Pest Management - CRC, 2007

David W. Nellis - Seashore Plants of South Florida and the Caribbean - Pineapple Press, 1994

Frederic Rosengarten Jr. - The Book of Edible Nuts - Dover Publications, 2004

Gil Nelson - The Tree of Florida - Pineapple Press, 1998

James A. Duke - Handbook of Nuts - CRC, 2000