Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Coco de mer
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Superlative seeds Large, dark brown, double-lobed Coco de Mer (Lodoicea maldivica) palm fruit with a textured surface, resting on a wooden surface in the Seychelles islands. coco de mer
Quizzes
Spreading oak tree in summer. (green, leaves, deciduous, shade)
Trees: Giants Holding the Sky
Field of baobab trees, Madagascar. (bottle tree)
Trees of the World
Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap
Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous
Quick Facts
Also called:
double coconut
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Superlative seeds
Superlative seeds Known as cocos de mer, or double coconuts, the fruits of the palm Lodoicea maldivica contain the largest and heaviest angiosperm seeds.  

Coco de mer

plant
Also known as: Lodoicea maldivica, double coconut
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History
Taxonomy

IUCN status: Endangered

Coco de mer, (Lodoicea maldivica), endangered palm of the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean, the seed of which is the largest and heaviest on Earth. Its contents of the nut are edible but are not commercially valuable. Water vessels and platters are made from the shells. The empty fruits (after germination of the seed) are found floating in the Indian Ocean and were known long before the palm was named by science.

Large, dark brown, double-lobed Coco de Mer (Lodoicea maldivica) palm fruit with a textured surface, resting on a wooden surface in the Seychelles islands.
Coco de merKnown as coco de mer, or double coconut, the seed of the palm Lodoicea maldivica is the largest and heaviest on Earth.  

The flowers are borne in enormous fleshy spadices (spikes), the male and female on distinct plants. Coco de mer fruits take about 10 years to ripen; they have a fleshy and fibrous envelope surrounding a hard, nutlike seed that is generally two-lobed, suggesting a double coconut. The seed is the largest in the world.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.