A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Weezie's Mom's Mystery Nut from Fla.

My mother sent this to me from Florida..
What izzzzz it???



AND IT'S THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL!!!!

She's tryin' to tell me it's a Coconut...
I do not think so...

I'm thinkin' it's somekind of Palm Nut???

Okay, here's another view of it...
The end that's attached to the tree..
and I put a quarter on it for size..
*remember it's the size of a football*

Weezie it looks like a coconut! (Really!) When I was in Hawaii several years ago, you could buy them like this, with an address tag attached to them, for mailing to someone. Inside this is a woody, hairy-like mass between the outer shell & the coconut... as you would buy them "raw" in the produce department. (The little dark, round ones, that you poke holes in to drain the "coconut milk" out of, then break open with a hammer & lift the "meat" out of!)

I've asked my daughter, who lives on Maui, to send me one, but she says that she can't find them in any of the stores there. I wanted one for my kids at the school, so they could take it apart, but OH WELL!
(Maybe they stopped marketing them that way... some sort of Agricultural law or something, I figure.)

Seriously???
Like I have to take the outter coating off,
to get at the next outter coating????

I am used to seeing the hairy coconuts in
the grocery store...

That's why I didn't think it was a coconut..

Hmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Yeppers! That is a coconut!The part you are used to is inside.

Well, I'll be dipped..
Okay, if we have two yes's.....
I'll go with the yes's..

I just thought it looked like a seed,
and thought, I'd feel bad if I cracked it open,
and I could have planted it...

Thanks!!

P/S I'd been busy Googling seed, nut, etc...
but couldn't find anything that resembled it..

Sometimes you feel like a nut!!( this coconut thread reminds me of almond joy commercial) Glad you found out what it is. We were in Honolulu in Nov, and they are hanging on the trees there.

ohhhhhhhh yeah...
I kept sayin' That ain't no coconut...

I am wondering, why soooooo many layers to finally get to that coconut meat..
The one that I am used to in a grocery store is like armor... I would have thought that would have sufficed in mother natures' scheme...


And now you got me wanting a Almond Joy Bar...
with DARK CHOCOLATE!!

Weezie, for all I know, there are probably 2,000 different kinds of Palm trees, & I can't say that I know what kind of "fruit" or "nut" grows on each one, but I do know that Coconuts grow on Palm trees!

If your Mother sent it to you from Florida, my guess is that she may have gotten it from a Coconut Palm there. Yes, you DO have to take the outer coating off, to get at the next outer coating, (if you want to get to the meat, that is.) You can use a saw on the outside & inside shells, but getting through all that woody fiber is a bugger! Personally, I think they're really cool just the way you have it (& a lot less work!)

Sure makes a person wonder how the cave man got into them!!!

By the way, if you want to read some really interesting botanical stuff about that goofy looking nut & some of its bi-products, take a look at this, and wonder no more!

It IS a seed! (I think ALL nuts are seeds... present company excluded!)

...But before you go off & plant it, read up on that last link I posted. I didn't see that it says anything about how long it takes to germinate something like that! (My guess is that it might need to be Scarafied though... with an axe!)

If you decide to plant it, don't forget where you put it over the years, as it just might take a while! (And, keep us posted!)

That is true.. all nuts are seeds that I know of.
But I was thinkin' a regular ole palm tree, not a coconut tree... *cause I was still thinkin' the coconut looked like that when it grew.. *

No, I wouldn't be able to get it not cracked open by my wee~one, he is dyin' to get his hammer out and crack it open...

I'd never be able to plant that puppy here, we are definatelyyyyyyyy out of it's growing range, ferrrrrr shurrrrrrrrr!!!!
And no place to over winter it..

Oh, that's right, you're in New York! (I'd say it really really would take a long time, in that case!)
I know! Go plant it in G-Mom's yard!

(Really - a "seed" that size, even the "little one" on the inside, boggles my mind!)

I was thinkin' it was something like this.. Lodoicea maldivica

WOW!
Now THAT'S a seed! (Notice that it's also from a Palm!)

I think at $450.00 USD, I'd have to want one of those pretty darned bad, but I like how it says "The seeds are not very difficult to germinate"! (And that site even has directions!)

Now for the 64,ooo dollar question,
How do I get the first layer off???

I know what to do to the second layer,
hammer and nail, get the milk out, at least 2 holes, one for air and one for the milk..

but how does one get the outter coating off?? Doesn't feel like you can peel it??? Do I have to take the axe to that part?

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I did some looking around about opening this thing. It seems that a machete is used to slice away the outside husk. In the same way we sharpen a pencil with a knife. They warn about it being dangerous, so be careful if you do this. They say a knife can be used but to buy a $10 knife, instead of using your good set, as it dulls them fast. Once the husk is removed you have to slice through the skin in order to get to the coconut ( kind we see at the store)

Have fun girlfriend!

Weezie - that is DEFINITELY A COCONUT!!!
We saw many on the ground just like that when we were in Puerto Rico 2 summers ago. I could not, for the life of me get into one!!! I carried that baby all around the island and never got it opened. I even threw it at the ground, bashed it against a concrete curb - nothing got into it.

Can't wait to hear how you finally manage it!

I'm waiting for mother to get home, tomorrow afternoon..
Papito sent me some info on opening,
yeah, it had the machete too....

We're going to make it a family project..
Well, the kids are only watching, that is for sure, but I'd like them to see it..
I think it'll be fun..

I was talking about that last night, of sorts, as to how the plant species survives with so much outter coating on the darn thing, how it even sprouts to make a new tree?????

From what I know (not much as it may turn out!) but the coconut (as we know) inside your shell, will have a soft green outer skin to it. It's only when exposed to air and sun that it husks up into the hard brown ones we know and love.

And the shell (kernel?) that you have, can be opened "easily" by inserting a sharp object into the top and just banging it? That what Ray Mears said on his survival TV programme once anyway.

A real conversation piece, if I ever saw one.

Some experience is required to chop it open without hurting yourself, as the fibrous outer husk is over an inch thick, and is really tough.

We keep knocking on it..
and GREEN BROWN ???

a very sharp serrated edge bread/carving knife will "crack" the outer hull, then pliers can be used to peel the fibrous cover (the same thing that they make the coconut mats out of), then you know the drill after that!

Weezie, have you tried putting that thing in a vice (to hold it still) & sawing the outer shell with a hand saw? Seems that would be the safest way to tackle the job. (That's what I'd do... after all, it is "wood".)