Click on any image to open the slideshow
Cocos nucifera L.
Coconut Palm
Cocoa Palm
Cocoa-nut Palm
Not native to Florida
A rare palm of beaches and disturbed thickets in Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys. Used in landscapes in South Florida and into the coastal areas of the central peninsula. Also introduced in Georgia, and the Carolinas. Generally believed to be native to the south Pacific but widespread throughout tropical regions around the world.
Growing up to 20m (66 ft.) tall, typically with a narrow curving trunk. The pinnate leaves can be up to 7m (23 ft.) long with grayish or brownish petioles up to 2m (6-1/2 ft.) long. The leaflets can be 5cm (2 in.) wide and 1.5m (5 ft.) long. Flowers are small and yellowish, appearing in spike-like clusters up to 1m (39 in.) long. The coconut is a large, hard and three-sided roundish fruit up to 40cm (16 in.) long.
Cocos nucifera is a member of the Arecaceae - Palm family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 17, 2024
