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Coco de Mer
By Alison Needham
Deep in the Vallee de Mai, an isolated valley located in the Seychelles Islands, is a grove of coconut trees so rare they are protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So unusual are these coconuts that they were sought after as an aphrodisiac in the east. With the fruit of the female tree closely resembling the curvy backside of a woman, and the flower of the male tree appearing much like certain male anatomy, it's no wonder that the Coco de Mer was the fodder for many a fantasy. The double lobed, Coco de Mer (Lodoicea maldivica) is considered to be the rarest coconut of all, located only in the Seychelles Islands, which is a nation off Africa in the Indian Ocean. Of the more than 100 islands in the chain, the Coco de Mer only grows wild on two of them, Praslin and Curieuse, having become extinct on the others.
Before these fan-leafed coconut palms were discovered in 1768, many thought that their huge coconuts came from mythical trees at the bottom of the ocean. In actuality, the coconuts that fell from the trees, ended up drifting along ocean currents, pushed ahead by westward winds. According to legend, lonely sailors would see the coconuts floating by their ships and believe that they looked like a woman's buttocks. Many Coco de Mers washed ashore on the Maldives where they were gathered up and prized for trade and medicinal uses. Some sixteenth century European royals were so enamored with them that they had the shells polished and carved or decorated with expensive jewels, and put them on display in their own private galleries.
The Coco de Mer is a unique coconut for many reasons. Unlike a regular coconut, which looks like a fuzzy, brown bowling ball, it is shaped like a heart and is considered to be a true case of island gigantism. Consequently, it holds several botanical records; the largest fruit ever recorded (92 pounds), the largest mature seed (39 pounds), and the largest female flowers of any other palm. Though other coconuts can float while fresh, because of its immense size, the Coco de Mer can only float after the seed is no longer viable, which explains why it doesn't grow anywhere else.
The fruit, which requires six to seven years to mature and two more to germinate, can only be produced from female trees that are over 100 years old, and some of the trees in the protected grove are believed to be at least 800 years old. When ripe, the flesh of Coco de Mer is not hard like a regular coconut, but rather sweet and jelly-like, and apparently quite tasty. It is also used in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicines. Even though the Coco de Mer is one of the most sought after souvenirs by those who travel to the Seychelles, it comes with a hefty price tag-about $400-which includes the required export permit.
Though quite unique, the Coco de Mer is one of hundreds, if not thousands of varieties of coconut palms, including a newly-discovered, multi-headed one that was auctioned last year for one million dollars. Most are known by the name of the locality in which they are grown, which means that the same kind of tree can have different names in many different places. That, coupled with their predilection for vigorous cross-pollination, makes it difficult for researchers to determine exactly how many unique types there are today.
Coconuts continue to be an important part of the culture and cuisine of tropical climes, with a multitude of uses. People drink it, eat it, cook with it, wear it, and have even made bio-fuel with its oil. It's no wonder that coconuts have been rightly dubbed in Sanskrit "the tree which provides all the necessities of life," in Malay "the tree of a thousand uses," and in the Philippines "the tree of life."