The Coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica) is a palm tree that grows on the islands of Seychelles in the West Indian Ocean east of Madagascar.
It's also called as Sea Coconut, Love Nut, double coconut, coco fresse, or Seychelles Nut.
‘Coco de mer’ in French means – coco= coconut; de= of; mer= sea .
The coco de mer palm produces a buoyant coconut seed without any husk, perfectly designed to be dispersed by the sea.
The "coconut of the sea"!
In early days, sailors who first saw these “double coconut” floating in the sea imagined that it resembled a woman's disembodied buttocks. This fanciful association is reflected in one of the plant's archaic botanical names, Lodoicea callypige – the word callipyge is from Greek meaning ''beautiful buttocks."
In those early times it was believed by many that the “double coconut” grew on a mythical tree at the bottom of the sea. The true source of nut from Seychelles islands was discovered in 1768.
The fruit/seed weighs up to 22 kg and measures up to 50 cm across, the largest seed in the world.
The Coco de Mer palm reaches a height of 30 meters!
There are separate male and female coco de mer palms.
Male palms grow to about 30m high, female palms to about 24m high.
Coco de mer palms life span is between 200 and 400 years!
The coco de mer is now a rare protected species.
It's also called as Sea Coconut, Love Nut, double coconut, coco fresse, or Seychelles Nut.
‘Coco de mer’ in French means – coco= coconut; de= of; mer= sea .
The coco de mer palm produces a buoyant coconut seed without any husk, perfectly designed to be dispersed by the sea.
The "coconut of the sea"!
In early days, sailors who first saw these “double coconut” floating in the sea imagined that it resembled a woman's disembodied buttocks. This fanciful association is reflected in one of the plant's archaic botanical names, Lodoicea callypige – the word callipyge is from Greek meaning ''beautiful buttocks."
In those early times it was believed by many that the “double coconut” grew on a mythical tree at the bottom of the sea. The true source of nut from Seychelles islands was discovered in 1768.
The fruit/seed weighs up to 22 kg and measures up to 50 cm across, the largest seed in the world.
The Coco de Mer palm reaches a height of 30 meters!
There are separate male and female coco de mer palms.
Male palms grow to about 30m high, female palms to about 24m high.
Coco de mer palms life span is between 200 and 400 years!
The coco de mer is now a rare protected species.
- Dr. P. Kumarasamy
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