Cocos nucifera

Cocos nucifera, commonly called coconut or coconut palm, is a tall tree that is native to tropical islands in the western Pacific. Trees will typically mature to 50 to 100 tall over time.

This is a single-trunked palm with a branchless, often-curved, light gray trunk which is swollen at the base and topped by a crown of pinnate, downward-arching, green fronds. Fragrant yellow flowers in elongated clusters only appear in tropical climates where they bloom on and off throughout the year. Female flowers are followed by single-seeded coconuts. Each coconut has a fibrous husk which surrounds a woody shell containing the coconut meat, milk and oil which are used in numerous food products around the world. Drinkable coconut water is the liquid inside green coconuts. Coconut milk is produced by grating the mature coconut meat, mixing it with water and then squeezing. Coconut meat can be eaten raw or cooked. Dried coconut meat is crushed to obtain coconut oil with residue sometimes added to animal feed.