Where did the coconut originate?

The coconut is the nut of a palm tree. It is useful to millions of people but, nobody knows where it originated. At the dawn of history this tree was already there in every tropical land.

Scientists believed that the nuts were carried in ancient times by the ocean tides and by man from one tropical country to another. So they spread everywhere so long ago that we can’t trace them back to any one place!

It is an oblong fruit, averaging from 30 to 40 centimeters in length and 15 to 20 centimeters in diameter. Coconut oil comes from the copra which is obtained by drying the white meat of coconut. This has been used as a food for thousands of years. Today, it is also used in making of soap, butter substitutes, cosmetics and many other commercial products. Coconut meat is used in baking and candy baking.

Tropical people have practically put every single part of the coconut palm tree into use in one way or the other. Its stem and leaves have been used for shelter. From the unopened flowers, East Indian and South Sea natives draw out a juice which they call "toddy". They drink this in its natural stage, or ferment it to make intoxicating liquor. The heart of the flower is cooked as a vegetable. The milk of the coconut makes a thirst-quenching drink. From the mass of fibers around the nut, coarse yarn is made. The husks of the nut make a valuable fertiliser. From the trunk of the tree, furniture is made. The long leaves furnish fibers from which hats are made. So, the coconut palm is one of the most useful trees.