State Tree
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State Tree : The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera)
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Scientific Classification
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Common Name
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Coconut Tree
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Scientific Name
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Cocos nucifera
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Kingdom
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Plantae
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Phylum
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Tracheophyta
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Class
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Liliopsida
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Order
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Arecales
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Family
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Arecaceae
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Genus
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Cocos
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Species
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C.nucifera
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Conservation Status
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IUCN Red List Category
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Not Evaluated
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The State Tree of Kerala is the coconut palm , native to tropical eastern regions, today it is grown both over the Asian continent (India, Ceylon, Indonesia) and in Central and South America (Mexico, Brazil), in Africa. The people of the state of consider Kerala to be the " Land of Coconuts "; ‘nalikerathinte naadu' in the native language. The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth. The term coconut refers to the fruit of the coconut palm.
It's fruit is 1-2 kg in weight, is a drupe with a thin, smooth, grey-brownish epicarp, a fibrous, 4-8 cm thick, mesocarp and a woody endocarp; as it is rather light, it can be carried long distances by water while keeping its germinability for a long time.
Inside it contains one seed, rich in reserve substances located in the endosperm which is partly liquid (coconut milk), partly solid (flesh).
The coconut palm is perhaps the widest-grown palm in the world. Coconuts feature as one of the main sources of income for many of the people, in that a large number of different products are utilized. Nearly all parts of the coconut palm are useful, and the palms have a comparatively high yield (up to 75 fruits per year); it therefore has significant economic value. The name for the coconut palm in Sanskrit is kalpa vriksha, which translates as "the tree which provides all the necessities of life".