coconut palm

n. A feather-leaved palm (Cocos nucifera) extensively cultivated in tropical regions for food, beverages, oil, thatching, fiber, utensils, or ornament.

coconut palm

n (Plants) a tall palm tree, Cocos nucifera, widely planted throughout the tropics, having coconuts as fruits. Also called: coco palm or coconut tree

co′conut palm`

n. a tall tropical palm, Cocos nucifera, bearing large hard-shelled seeds enclosed in a thick fibrous husk. [1830–40]

Thesaurus

Noun

coconut palm - tall palm tree bearing coconuts as fruits; widely planted throughout the tropicscoco, coco palm, cocoa palm, coconut tree, Cocos nucifera, coconutcocoanut, coconut - large hard-shelled oval nut with a fibrous husk containing thick white meat surrounding a central cavity filled (when fresh) with fluid or milkpalm tree, palm - any plant of the family Palmae having an unbranched trunk crowned by large pinnate or palmate leavesCocos, genus Cocos - coconut palms

Translations

κοκοφοίνικαςcocco

Coconut Palm

(Cocos nucifera), a plant of the family Palmaceae. The trunk measures 20–25 m in height and 50–60 cm in diameter. The leaves are pinnate and 3–6.5 m long. The flowers, which are unisexual and on spikes, are gathered into panicles (length, up to 1.2 m). The fruit is a coconut, which is a drupe weighing 1.5–2.5 kg. The outer shell of the fruit is fibrous. The inner shell is hard and has three pores that lead to three ovules. Only one ovule develops into a seed. Initially the seed endosperm is liquid and transparent. Drops of oil appear in the endosperm, which then becomes a milky emulsion, thickens, and solidifies.

The ripe endosperm, containing 30–35 percent oil, is used to produce copra. The oil from copra is of great dietary and industrial importance. The solid residue of the copra is used as fodder. The endosperm of unripe coconuts yields coconut milk, which is used as a beverage and in food. Sugar, syrup, and wine are produced from the sap of the inflorescence. Coir, used in the manufacture of ropes, mats, and brushes, is obtained from the fibrous husk of the coconut and from the leaf fibers. The wood from the trunks is an excellent building material.

Since antiquity the coconut palm has been cultivated in the tropics of both hemispheres, primarily in the Philippines, the Malay Archipelago, the Malay Peninsula, India, and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The area devoted to the cultivation of coconut palms is 3.4 million hectares. The coconut palm thrives along sea-coasts. Coconuts that fall into the water are dispersed by sea currents. Formerly, many different species were known as coconut palms. They are now assigned to other closely related genera, such as Arikuryroba, Butia, and Syagrus, and to other families of palms.

REFERENCES

Zhukovskii, P. M. Kul’turnye rasteniia iikh sorodichi, 3rd ed. Leningrad, 1971.
Siniagin, I. I. Tropicheskoe zemledelie. Moscow, 1968.
Menon, K. P. V., and K. M. Pandalai. The Coconut Palm: A Monograph. Ernakulam, 1958.

S. S. MORSHCHIKHINA

coconut palm

coconut palm

coconut palm

co′conut palm`

Coconut Palm

Coconut Palm

REFERENCES

coconut palm

Synonyms for coconut palm

noun tall palm tree bearing coconuts as fruits

Synonyms

Related Words