Is a coconut a fruit?
Yes, a coconut is a fruit. Botanically, it is a drupe, a fruit with a hard stone inside, like a peach or olive. It is not a true nut, despite its name.
A coconut has three layers. The smooth outer skin is the exocarp, the thick fibrous husk is the mesocarp and the hard woody shell is the endocarp. Inside the shell is the seed, which contains white flesh called the kernel and coconut water. The brown hairy coconut sold in shops is the inner shell with the husk removed.
Coconuts grow on coconut palms in tropical regions around the world. A coconut can float in the ocean for months and still sprout, which helped the palms spread across tropical coasts and islands. The trees can produce coconuts for 60 years or more.
Many uses
Coconuts provide food, drink and materials. Coconut milk is made by grating and pressing the flesh, and coconut oil is pressed from dried flesh called copra. The husk fiber, called coir, is used for ropes and mats. Indonesia, the Philippines and India are the biggest producers.
Did You Know?
The name coconut comes from the Portuguese and Spanish word coco, meaning head or skull, because the three holes on the shell look like a face.