| The Coconut Palm |
By Fabio Cupul -
April, 2005 - Leer Español
|
In contrast to the natural evolutionary development of plants and animals, the success of the growth and development in the cultivation of plants of economic interest depends greatly on what the human being designs and chooses for his benefit. Some plants in particular have been selected amongst many available species in nature with the purpose of making them grow in masses and cross them amongst each other. Consequently the domestication process is a careful selection of a group of wild plants or animals by man satisfying his needs amongst others for food and shelter. But domestication does not stop there, since the development and selection of hybrid species, new selections and in recent times the controversial interference in the hereditary processes, the so-called transgenic cells continue day by day.
The domestication, which in coarse words means "to get a wild animal or plant ccustomed to the company of man", has its origin in the tropical regions of Asia and America some 9000 years before Christ. One of these domesticated species has become a part of the countryside of Banderas Bay, without being a native of the region: the water coconut (Cocos nucífera).
In general terms the distribution of the water coconut corresponds to the areas included between the Tropic of Cancer and that of Capricorn and therefore it becomes converted to a typical tropical plant of economic and ornamental interest. The fruit of the palm tree has been used as a food with nutritional value during the last 4000 years by the inhabitants of the islands of the Southern Pacific and southern Asia. Since 1740 it has been systematically cultivated by the Dutch and Portuguese.
The region of origin of the coconut palm tree refers to Polynesia even though some researchers argue about a possible source in South America. What you can be sure of, is that the coconut sticks to the coastal regions even though some plants can penetrate up to 150 km inland along the currents, adapted to saline ground and whose fruit have the capacity of floating, allowing them to travel distances of more than 4500 km in order to colonize new territories.
The fruit or coconut concludes its development in the course of twelve months. The seed is found inside. It is a hard structure containing the so-called coconut "meat" In between the seed and the external surface of the fruit there is a fibrous material known as oakum which can be employed in the fabrication of ropes, rugs, arts and crafts or as fuel.
The "meat" of the coconut is the substratum from which the embryo of the palm tree (that is the seed) evolves and the so-called coconut "water" or "milk" filling the interior of the seed, is a clear liquid that leaks from the "meat" and later will change from a liquid substance to a solid one. The embryo measures only a few millimeters in length and is found embedded in the solid tissue in the distal portion of the fruit underneath one of the 3 "eyes" which remains soft and of easy penetration. Germination takes place after many months, requiring an average temperature of 27 C and rainfall between 1200 and 2000 mm for its growth.
The coconut palm tree can live up to 100 years, but its best production of fruit (50 to 80 fruits per palm tree per year) occurs between 12 and 40 years. On the other hand the harvest of the fruit is carried out by men who climb up the tree to the top or with jackknives tied to poles and in some Asian countries by monkeys trained to carry out the task.
The "meat" of the coconut is commercialized as grated, dehydrated or as "copra", which contains close to 70% of oil which can be used for cooking and in the fabrication of margarine. Mexico occupies the 6th place in the worldwide production of "copra" (1 302 500 metric tons in 1998), but it is amply surpassed by Indonesia occupying the first place with 14 710 000 metric tons.
In addition the leaves of the palm tree are used to cover the roofs of buildings, the trunk provides wood for construction and furniture and a juice that is used in the elaboration of a refreshing soft drink called "tuba" is extracted from the flourishing branches.
Prof. Fabio German Cupul Magaña
Email: fcupul@pv.udg.mx
The publication of this article is possible thanks to the authorization of Prof. Fabio German Cupul Magaña, author of the books "Tales of natural history in Vallarta - University of Guadalajara" (Relatos de la historia natural vallartense - Universidad de Guadalajara) and "Natural environment: Selection of essays of scientific disclosure - Coastal University Center of the University of Guadalajara". (Ambiente natural: Selección de ensayos de divulgación científica - Centro Universitario de La Costa Universidad de Guadalajara.
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