COCO DE MER

coco de mer, or double coco-nut, a palm, _lodoicea sechellarum_, which is a native of the seychelles islands. the flowers are borne in enormous fleshy spadices, the male and female on distinct plants. the fruits, which are among the largest known, take ten years to ripen; they have a fleshy and fibrous envelope surrounding a hard nut-like portion which is generally two-lobed, suggesting a large double coco-nut. the contents of the nut are edible as in the coco-nut. the empty fruits (after germination of the seed) are found floating in the indian ocean, and were known long before the palm was discovered, giving rise to various stories as to their origin.