Coco de mer: a piquant palm that makes you blush

On the islands of Praslin and Curiosity in the Seychelles, a unique variety of palm grows. Coco de mer, or sea palm (Lodoicea maldivica), has a thin trunk that reaches 30 meters in height. Leaves grow thickly at the top, and the crown can be up to five meters in radius. The leaves of mature trees often have a fringe at the ends. The dry edges of the leaves hang down under the crown of the palm tree.

An ordinary palm tree, you say. But the most interesting thing about coco de mer is the huge seeds. These are the largest and heaviest seeds in the entire plant world. And this is also not the most unusual. The shape of these seeds is unusual, which made the palm tree famous all over the world: it is very similar to a woman's buttocks. Previously, coco de mer had another scientific name - Lodoicea callipyge, where callipyge in Greek means "beautiful buttocks".

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Source: Amusing Planet

Coco de mer is surrounded by more legends and mysteries than any other tree in the world. Centuries ago, even before the Seychelles was discovered and settled, coco de mer nuts washed up on distant shores, for example, the Maldives, where such palm trees were not known. There they were collected on beaches and sold to other countries. Because of its unusual shape and size, this nut was considered an item with powerful aphrodisiac properties. Because it was sold in the Maldives, it was called Maldivian coconut. This fact is reflected in the current scientific name of coco de mer - Lodoicea maldivica.

This is what the inflorescence of the male coco de mer plant looks like.

If the coco de mer fruit falls into the sea, because of its weight and density, it goes to the bottom. When the coconut has been lying on the bottom for enough time, its shell erodes and falls off. The inside of the nut decomposes, and the gases that are formed during decomposition cause the hollow nut to float to the surface of the water. Many sailors saw these nuts float up from the bottom and thought they were growing on underwater trees in the forest at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. This belief gave the nut its name - coco de mer (coco de mer), which means "sea coconut" in French.

In ancient times, coco de mer nuts were highly valued, and all nuts found in the ocean and on beaches automatically became the property of the king, who sold them at a very high price or gave them as honorable and expensive gifts. Middle Eastern princes and even the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II were ready to give a fortune for these rare treasures.

Around the XVIII century, it was discovered that this nut grows in the Seychelles. When the researchers landed at the birthplace of this unusual palm tree, they discovered another surprise. Unlike the common coconut palm, coco de mer has male and female trees. A nut in the shape of female buttocks gives a female tree, and a male tree has inflorescences that very much resemble a male sexual organ.

This similarity gave rise to a legend: on dark stormy nights, when no one is watching, trees move their roots to merge with each other in ecstasy. According to legend, anyone who sees trees making love will either die or go blind. To this day, scientists do not fully understand how the coco de mer pollination occurs, and this adds even more mystery to the sea palm.

When Major General Charles George Gordon of the British Army landed on Praslin Island in 1881, he was convinced that he had found the biblical Garden of Eden. A devoutly believing Briton, seeing the shape of the coco de mer fruit, took root in the opinion that this is the same forbidden fruit that Eve offered to Adam.

The amazing coco de mer plant is currently the owner of five botanical records. Firstly, it is the world's largest fruit growing in the wild: its weight reaches 42 kg. Secondly, the seeds of this palm tree weigh up to 17.6 kg and are also considered the heaviest seeds in the world. Thirdly, coco-de-mer has the longest cotyledon known to science, which reaches four meters. Fourth, female flowers are the largest among palm trees. In addition, this plant is the most effective in obtaining nutrients from its own dead leaves.