IS COCONUT A FRUIT OR A NUT ?

Is coconut a fruit or a nut?
By Vaibhav Singh –
Coconut is a large palm, that grows upto to 30 m tall. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit.
The coconut we get in the store does not look like the coconut we find growing on a coconut tree. An untouched coconut has three layers.
The outermost layer, which is typically smooth with a greenish color, is called the exocarp. The next layer is the fibrous husk, or mesocarp, which ultimately surrounds the hard woody layer called the endocarp.
The endocarp surrounds the seed. When we buy a coconut at the supermarket the exocarp and the massacre is removed and what we see is the endocarp. Coconuts sold in the shops of non-tropical countries often have their husk removed.
The white flesh and water are found inside the seed.
What is a drupe?
Botanically, the coconut fruit is known to be drupe and not a true nut. A drupe is defined to be a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a pit of hardened endocarp with a seed inside.
The categorization of plants can be a difficult matter for a common person. Coconuts are classified as a fibrous one-seeded drupe.
A drupe is a fruit with a hard, stony covering enclosing the seed and comes from the word drupa meaning overripe olive.
A coconut, and all drupes, have three layers: the exocarp (outer layer), the mesocarp (fleshy middle layer), and the endocarp (hard, woody layer that surrounds the seed).
The word coconut it can also be puzzling because the word “nut” is enclosed in the word. A nut can be defined as a one- seeded fruit.
By that loose definition, a coconut can also be a nut, though a coconut is not a true nut. A true nut, such as the acorn, is indehiscent and do not open at maturity to release its seeds.
The seeds are released when the fruit wall decays or are digested by an animal.
Interesting Coconut Facts
• Every bit of the coconut is used. As a result, coconuts are called the “Tree of Life” and can produce drink, fiber, food, fuel, utensils, musical instruments, and much more.
• When intra-venous (IV) solution was in short supply, doctors during World War II and Vietnam used coconut water in substitution of IV solutions.
• Botanically, the coconut palm is not a tree since there is no bark, no branches, or secondary growth. A coconut palm is a woody perennial monocotyledon with the trunk being the stem.
• Possibly the oldest reference is from Cosmas, a 5th century AD Egyptian traveler. He wrote about the “Indian nut” or “nut of India” after visiting India and Ceylon, Some scholars believe Cosmas was describing a coconut.
• Soleyman, an Arab merchant, visited China in the 9th century and describes the use of coir fiber and toddy made from coconuts.
• In 16th century, Sir Francis Drake called coconut “nargils”, which was the common term used until the 1700’s when the word coconut was established.
• It takes 11 -12 months for the coconut to mature.
• At one time, scientists identified over 60 species of Cocos palm. Today, the coconut is a monotypic with one species,nucifera. However, there are over 80 varieties of coconut palms, which are defined by characteristics such as dwarf and tall.
• Coconut growing regions are as far north as Hawaii and as far south as Madagascar.
Other Drupes
Other drupes are coffee, mango, olive, date, pistachio, almonds, apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach, and plum.
So, is coconut a fruit or a nut?
Almonds, peaches and mango are in the same drupe family as coconuts. We always considered almonds nuts and peaches and mangoe to be s fruits.
Hence forth we can assume that coconuts are rather of a crossing between a fruit and a nut. And we are eating the flesh and drinking the water of a huge seed.