Coconut Palms

The coconut tree is known as 'pokok seribu guna', "the tree of a thousand uses" to the local people. Its parts can be used for decoration as well as for its many culinary and non-culinary uses; virtually every part of the coconut palm has its use to mankind.

When the coconut is still green, the endosperm inside is thin and tender, often eaten as a snack. But the main reason to pick the nut at this stage is to drink its water; a big nut contains up to one liter. The flesh in a young coconut is softer than a mature coconut. Therefore, it is sometimes known as coconut jelly. When the nut has ripened and the outer husk has turned brown, a few months later, it will fall from the palm on its own . At that time the endosperm has thickened and hardened, while the coconut water has become somewhat bitter.