When you think of Hawaii you probably immediately think of a sun drenched beach, gentle waves lapping at the shore, and sitting in the shade of a gently swaying palm tree. Hawaii has the perfect growing conditions for the coconut palm tree. Coconuts are beautiful to look at, but they were absolutely essential to the survival of the early inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands.
Although coconuts can survive in their husks to float to distant shores and still be viable to grow and produce fruit that is probably not how they made it to the Hawaiian shores. It is thought that the coconut palm was brought to the Hawaiian shores by the Polynesians as they traveled across the Pacific. Pacific islands can be very inhospitable places, hot sun, limited fresh water, very limited food supplies. So it makes sense, that if you are going to travel to look for new shores to live on, that you would bring your own food supplies.
The coconut palm takes 6 years at least to start producing fruit. So, the early settlers on Hawaii would have wanted to get those planted right off the bat, and then move on to faster growing crops. As the coconut trees matured they would have provided shade. As the palm grows leaves can be used for weaving and thatching, spent leaves can be used as silage and fuel.
As the trees matured and began to produce fruit every part of the nut was used at every stage of development. When the coconuts are green, the outside is very hard, but the nut inside is rather like a jelly. This soft jelly can be eaten and was often given to babies or old folks with poor dentitions. The coconut water at this stage is sweet and depending upon the size of the coconut can contain about a liter of water.
Coconut water is completely different from coconut milk. The milk is actually made by scrapping the meat out of a mature nut and mixing the shredded coconut meat with water and squeezing the water through the meat. That makes a white, mildly sweet liquid that can then be drunk or used to cook with. Mature coconut water is bitter and is an irritant when drunk, which is a nice way of saying it can have a laxative affect.
The meat itself has a fair amount of saturated fat. The good news is it also contains protein and very little sugar and is high in minerals. So don’t worry too much about having that bit of fresh coconut meat on occasion.
Once the meat has been removed from the nut, you are left with a nice hard cup to use. The shell can also be carved or used for fuel. The husk of the mature coconut has become soft as compared to the husk of the green coconut. This husk is used to produce rope and mats. The coir as it is known can also be used as a plant medium or mulch.
Coconut palms are a perfect plant for tropical climates especially shore lines. They tolerate a fair amount of salinity from salt water spray, and they love the sun. In fact they will not grow in an environment where there is a canopy of trees above them. They must have open spaces. They will not grow in areas where the temperature is below 50 degrees for any length of time and they must have frequent rain and high humidity. Key West Florida is the only place in the mainland United States that the coconut palm can grow without help and be content. You can get them to grow elsewhere, but they are frequently damaged by the occasional freezing temperature and they require irrigation.
Unfortunately, the coconut palm is under attack in Hawaii. Coconut heart rot disease which is caused by a fungus. The fungus attacks the crown of the palm tree and then the fungus travels to the core of the tree. The leaves all fall of and all that is left is the trunk.
There are efforts underway to save the palms and only time will tell how effective the results will be.
So the next time you are eating a coconut, or looking at a beautiful stately palm swaying in the breeze, be thankful that the coconut is in Hawaii. What an incredible gift these trees were from those long ago voyagers!
