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In this way, the coconut palm evolved into a well-adapted, widely distributed plant, dwelling on the coastlines of hundreds of islands and some continents. Fossils, likely to be ancestral coconut forms, have been found in both South America and New Zealand. However, there is a compelling case that the modern coconut evolved ‘on the move’, taking parallel courses in several locations and occasionally exchanging genetic material via drifting fruit, as a number of hospitable shorelines edged their way through the tropical seas. In clear contrast to the coconut, the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a forest-dwelling species with a crown attached to a stout but inflexible trunk, which is shorter and thicker than that of the coconut palm. When longer fronds of the oil palm, which have a greater density of leaflets and a more slender rachis Figure 1-3. Crown of an oil-palm (at right) on Guadalcanal with the central growing point fatally damaged by cyclone Namu in 1986. Coconut palms growing nearby were undamaged. 19 (central stalk), are whipped around and twisted furiously by the wind, they cannot ‘self-prune’ because of their unyielding attachment to the trunk. As was observed on Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) following Cyclone Namu in 1986, the oil palm’s central cluster of fronds can be fatally damaged by cyclonic wind, while neighbouring coconut palms are left unscathed (Figure 1-3). Friendship with a crab A species of crab (Birgus latro), known simply as the ‘coconut crab’, has long thrived on a coconutenriched diet and has evolved some deft abilities to get at the nourishing kernel. �is crab is reputed to be able to climb the coconut palm, pull the fruit loose, strip off the husk and, with its giant claws, gain entry to the nut by smashing a hole in the shell. �e crab is common in many coconut habitats but there is so far no documentary evidence that it can help itself to a coconut meal as easily as the legend claims. �e coconut crab’s claw is certainly the right shape to be inserted through a 40mm diameter hole and to scoop out the oil-rich kernel. �ere is no doubt that the crab often eats coconut
kernel, perhaps in some cases by attacking seedlings whose somewhat weathered husk can be easily ripped off to get to the nut. �e coconut crab is often found with a great reserve of coconutflavoured fat in its tail. �is is prized as a delicious high-energy food by indigenous peoples in Melanesia, for example, and offered to tourists as a gourmet dish at some resorts. As the fat is reputed to be chemically very similar to coconut oil, it is a healthy addition to any diet. �e coconut crab inhabits the three great archipelagos of the Philippines, Indonesia and Melanesia—which together might be described as the ‘coconut heartland’. �e apparent coevolution of crab and coconut has been found to be less complete than once believed, however, as the crab can subsist in places where the coconut is not readily available. For example, the crab is also found in outlying islands as far north as Okinawa (south of Japan in latitude 25 degrees north), where the coconut is present but not widespread. Figure 1-4. �e coconut crab, showing its very powerful claws used to tear the husk from the fruit and gouge out the kernel through a hole it has the power to make in the coconut shell. (C. Schiller) 20 Coconut diversity and the human factor In the ancient coconut heartland, variations in the size and shape of the wild coconut palm and its fruit were unlikely because the basic functional traits of the palm had already evolved. �e palm’s natural home was the strand, the strip of sandy soil on the coastline, and it was already well adapted to this environment. But there are other, invisible, traits that are important to the palm’s survival in various areas. Physiological adaptations to the physical environment (such as seasonally cool periods, drought and different soil traits) and the biotic environment (diseases and pests) would have evolved as responses to the varying latitudes, rainfall zones, and plants, insects and pathogens close enough to the strand to affect the coconut. Genetic diversity is generally a good indicator of a plant species’ prolonged presence in a region— diversity is greatest where the species has been longest—but this rule does not apply in trying to understand the coconut’s evolution. �e coconut must grow within the reach of king
Page 1 and 2: The coconut odyssey the bounteous p
Page 4 and 5: �e coconut odyssey the bounteous
Page 6: Foreword Coconut is a tree of great
Page 9 and 10: �e strand posed few biohazards .
Page 11 and 12: Traditional coconut cream and milk
Page 14 and 15: Preface Few plants are more univers
Page 16 and 17: chapter 1 �e coconut odyssey begi
Page 18 and 19: Evolution of the coconut �e ocean
Page 22 and 23: Figure 1-5. Zones of latitude withi
Page 24 and 25: ships bound for Cuba and other isla
Page 26 and 27: as the seedling develops. It secret
Page 28 and 29: But there was another motive. Durin
Page 30 and 31: Figure 1-12. Four seasonal mean tem
Page 32 and 33: midwinter, the central heating kept
Page 34 and 35: chapter 2 Surprising diversity amon
Page 36 and 37: Dwarfs have far fewer varieties tha
Page 38 and 39: �ey are also notably better adapt
Page 40 and 41: �e Niu Leka produces many interme
Page 42 and 43: Figure 2-6. Aerial view of North Ke
Page 44 and 45: chapter 3 �e life story of a palm
Page 46 and 47: �e embryo of the seed is conceale
Page 48 and 49: noticeable setback to growth, the s
Page 50 and 51: completing the second full circle.
Page 52 and 53: Why does the palm on the strand lea
Page 54 and 55: Figure 3-12. �e exposed roots of
Page 56 and 57: chapter 4 Taking the plunge looking
Page 58 and 59: Annual rainfall of 2000 mm, which i
Page 60 and 61: Figure 4-2. Crowded palms, showing
Page 62 and 63: Figure 4-4. Fruitless and therefore
Page 64 and 65: chapter 5 Caring for the palm from
Page 66 and 67: Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, par
Page 68 and 69: �e only known coconut disease att
Page 70 and 71:
least in the early years) will not
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Table 5.1. Visual symptoms of some
Page 74 and 75:
Table 5.2. Critical levels for mine
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chapter 6 �e productive palm pote
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from a palm with a 10-metre trunk.
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Figure 6-5a. A less likely disaster
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Where there is ready access to a to
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chapter 7 �e fruit and its parts
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have provided the foundation for a
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traces of many minerals, such as po
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Figure 7-3. Coconut milk being sque
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produced particularly in India and
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is lit at one end (requiring coals
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Coconut sap for toddy and sugar In
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(400-600 kg/m 3 ), and finally ther
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Precision cutting recovers the best
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even one metre would be enough to
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Preparing a ‘tender nut’: a spe
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little water left inside. Select on
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Recovering the kernel �e kernel c
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Small, 10-mm cubed pieces of fresh
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chapter 10 �e coconut’s industr
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using annual oil crops. Until then,
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which is the largest exporter. Indi
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on the separation of oil from its e
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skills. �e introduction of simple
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chapter 11 �e wonder food Since a
Page 124 and 125:
Saturated and unsaturated fats Mark
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double bonds are shown beside the n
Page 128 and 129:
Independent researchers in the Unit
Page 130 and 131:
molecules entering into the chemist
Page 132 and 133:
Issue Detail Comments 10. High melt
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The coconut odyssey - the bounteous possibilities of the ... - ACIAR

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