The coconut is the nut of a palm tree and is known and useful to millions of people. Now here’s a strange thing about this tree. Nobody knows where it originated! At the dawn of history this tree was already growing in every tropical land and seems to have always been part of the landscape. Scientists believe that the nuts were carried in ancient times by the ocean tides and by man from one tropical country to another. In this way, they spread everywhere so long ago that we can’t trace them back to any one place!

The little markings you see on the coconut are where the nut was attached to the tree. The coconut is an oblong fruit, averaging from 30 to 45 centimeters in length, and 15 to 20 centimeters in diameter.

When being prepared for commercial purposes, coconuts are split in three parts and allowed to dry. The white meat is then scooped out and dried further. It is called copra, and has a heavy, sickening odor. But from this comes the valuable coconut oil which has been used as a food for thousands of years. Today, it is also used in making soap, butter substitutes, cosmetics, and many other commercial products. Of course, we all know coconut meat as it is used in baking and candy-making.

Did you know that practically every single part of the coconut palm tree is put to use in some way by tropical peoples? Its stem and leaves furnish them with 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 state, or ferment it to make an 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 coir is made. The husks of the nut make a valuable fertilizer. From the trunk of the tree, furniture is made. The long leaves furnish fibers from which hats are made. So you see, the coconut palm is one of the most useful trees growing anywhere!