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Coconut
Graceful coconut trees grow in sandy soil, in the tropics where
the weather is warm and wet. Coastal areas have the largest
number of coconut trees. This tall tree has a slim trunk, which
bends with the strong breeze that blows in coastal areas.
Because it bends, it does not break.
The water inside green coconuts is very tasty and nutritious. It
has sugar, protein, amino acids, and minerals like calcium, iron
and copper, and vitamins. As the fruit becomes ripe, it turns
brown and hard and the water inside becomes sweeter, until it is
quite dry. Coconut oil is extracted from the flesh when the nut
turns brown and woody.
Each coconut leaf has a long central rib with smaller hard leaves
growing on either side. Waving in the breeze, coconut leaves
resemble the feathers of some giant bird. The leaves are plaited
to make baskets and mats, and also to make thatched roofs. The
hollowed out trunk is used as boats.
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