Where Do Coconuts Come From?

Coconut palm trees grow up to over 70 feet on islands and coastal areas in virtually all tropical climates.

The Cocos nucifera thrives from the Tropic of Cancer North of the Equator (23 27’N) to the Tropic of Capricorn South of the Equator (23 27’S). Although they even extend a little outside the tropics, coconut palms hardly yield mature fruit there.

Unlike most fruit bearing plants, coconut palms are always in season. They produce year round, usually in bunches of 6-12, sometimes more.

A typical coconut palm here in the Philippines produces a bunch each month. That’s up to over 140 coconuts per year, per tree.

It takes about 12-14 months for coconuts to reach maturity. A young coconut (less than 6 months old) is filled with liquid and has very little meat. A fully ripe coconut only has a small amount of liquid but a thick hard layer of meat.