Uses of the Coconut Tree
Coconut Leaf
The coconut leaf can be used as fish bait and source of cheap lime when burnt. It can produce good quality paper pulp, midrib brooms, and provide thatching materials for roofs and matting for floors, walls, and sun shades. The fonds can be woven to make hats, toys, fans, baskets, trays, lamp shades, placemats, bags, clothing, furnishings, screens, wall of make-shift buildings for temporary shelter.
Coconut Midrib
The coconut midrib is used to make skewers, arrows, brushes, fish traps. They are also used to make brooms of different types for cleaning rough grounds or floors.
Coconut Seedlings
Sprouting coconuts are mature coconuts that germinated within three to six month with roots pushing through the husk and a sharp shoot emerging from the end of the nut.
Coconut Embryo
When the coconut is ready to shoot some leaves out, inside the nut contains an edible, soft buttery, spherical sponge-like meat which is called the Coconut Cotyledon, also called the “Coconut Embryo”, “Coconut Apple” or “Coconut Pearl”. They are rich in vitamins, nutrients, and minerals.
Coconut Water
Coconut water can be consumed like any other fruit juice or cooked with or mixed with rum for cocktails. They are also used for producing vinegar, food jelly, embryo culture, and used in the production of the chewy, fiber-rich nata de coco, a dessert and serves as a laxative. In addition, the help in producing yeast and wine by yeast fermentation. They contain alcohol and ethyl acetate, growth substances, minerals, and vitamins used for plants as growth enhancer. They also used for anti-aging skincare products.
Coconut Trunk
The coconut trunk is used as lumber for homes, home furnishing, and home products. The can also be used to make small canoes, rafts, sheds, and other semi-permanent buildings. The bottom part of trunk can be used as a drum and ornamental wood carving. The dried coconut bark can be used to ignite coals in camphor censers. Paper pulp can be extracted from the trunk and other woody parts of the tree.
Coconut Husk
Tests show that 80% coconut coir and 40% abaca bleached sulfate pulp are a good combination in the production of offset book paper. Coir is the fiber from the husk used in ropes, yarns, carpets, rugs, brushes, caulking boats, stuffing fiber, bristles for making potting compost in horticulture, and mulch for plant growing. The dried husk makes the best cooking fire for barbeques or plain camp fire cooking. It is used for mosquito coil and mosquito smudges and smoke of burning husk is a natural mosquito repellent. The dried fibers of the nut can be shredded as stuffing for pillows, mattresses, car seats, upholstery, and life-preservers. They can used for planters, plant holders, and flower pots and for sound proofing and aquarium filters. The resin of the inner husk is used for toothache relief. It is also used for erosion control, geotextile, and electrical insulators. The fiber is resistant to sea water and is used of cable and rigging on ships; and used for olive oil filters in Italy and Greece.
Young Coconut
Young coconuts are harvested within six to nine months old directly from the tree. The color of the husk is green and they contain the most amount of coconut water. Inside is a soft, jelly-like white coconut meat with refreshing coconut water. They provide a source of calcium, carbohydrates, a trace of iron and dietary fiber. The water in this coconut is very high in electrolytes. Young coconuts are especially ideal for making desserts, baked goods, ice cream and other food applications.
Coconut Meat
When a fresh coconut is cracked open, a white flesh inside the shell of a coconut can be found. Mature coconuts have thicker layer of meat while young coconut have tender flesh. It is packed with healthy fats and minerals. It can be used for many product applications including coconut oil, desiccated coconut, coconut flour, coconut milk.
Coconut Guinit
Coconut Guinit can be used to produce handbags, fans, picture frames, decorative accessories, among others.
Mature Coconut
The mature coconut is harvested at around nine to twelve months old. The color of the husk is medium to dark brown in color and contains the hard white coconut meat. Due to its high oil content, it is a great source for plant-based coconut milk, coconut oil, desiccated coconut, among others. The coconut water can still be consumed or used in cooking.
Coconut Shell
The dried half shells with coconut husk are used to buff floors. They are also useful as microporous filters for aquariums. They are made into many forms of bowls, cups, ladles, storage containers, placemats, accessory for gifts, decorative accessories, furniture, handbags, and fashion accessories such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and buttons. The shell is used to make small drums, guitars, and wind chimes. Charcoal from shell is used in the production of submarines, cigarette tips, and cooking fires. The brunt shells are used for fuel, copra kilns, and charcoal. They are also used to make floor and wall tiles. Coconut shell can be converted into briquetted charcoal and activated carbon (which can be a domestic filter for drinking water and to remove poison). The coconut shell flour used in industry as filler in plastics and used in the production of air purification systems such as cooker hoods, air conditioning, air filters, gas masks, and cabin filters.
Coconut Spathe
The coconut spathe is the scope-like form that encloses the flowers of the coconut tree. They are used to make containers, arts, crafts, home furnishings, among others.
Coconut Roots
Coconut roots can be used as a treatment for dysentery, diarrhea, fever, laxative urine problems, and skin diseases. They are also used as a dye, toothbrush, mouthwash, and oral health applications.
Coconut Palm Heart
Under the coconut palm leaf stem is a white center known as the apical bud and also called the coconut palm heart. It is located where the coconut stem and green leaves start to bud from the trunk. The coconut palm heart may be eaten on its own. It is rich in fiber, potassium, iron, zinc, phosphorous, copper, vitamins B2, B6, and C.