Coco de mer

Taxonomy

IUCN status: Endangered

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

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.
Citation Information
Article Title: Coco de mer
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 14 November 2026
Access Date: November 14, 2026