What is the Coco de Mer? Unveiling the Rare Plant Worth Hundreds of Thousands with the Worlds Largest Seed

Nong Nooch Pattaya Garden created a sensation by opening 12 "Coco de Mer" fruits simultaneously, the world's largest seed plant, with a total value exceeding 1.2 million baht, introducing the extraordinary palm species that can live up to 400 years.

It immediately sparked online interest after Nong Nooch Pattaya Garden, led by Mr. Kampol Tansajja, chairman of the garden, held an event to peel and open 12 Coco de Mer fruits, a rare global plant species. Each fruit is valued at about 100,000 baht, with total value and botanical opportunity from this opening reaching 1.2 million baht, aiming to propagate the seeds and promote learning. Many have asked what this coconut is and why it commands such a high price.

What is the Coco de Mer? Why is it known as the plant with the world's largest seed?

The Coco de Mer, often called the double coconut and scientifically named Lodoicea maldivica, is a unique palm species recorded in the Guinness World Records as having the largest and heaviest seed in the world. The fruit can weigh between 10 and 20 kilograms each and has a distinctive shape resembling a woman's hips or buttocks, earning it the Thai nickname "woman’s bottom coconut."

The botanical wonder that takes decades to mature.

This plant is famous for its extremely slow growth, which is the main reason it is rare and expensive. Its remarkable growth cycle is as follows:

• Time to fruiting: It takes more than 30 years of growth before the tree flowers and produces fruit for the first time.
• Ripening period: After fruit set, it takes about 7 more years for the fruit to fully ripen.
• Seed germination: Once the fruit falls to the ground, it requires about 2 years for the seed to begin sprouting a taproot.
• Lifespan: The Coco de Mer palm can live up to 400 years.

Tracing the history of the "fruit from heaven" rarer than precious gems.

Historically, the name Coco de Mer or "sea coconut" comes from people finding these fruits floating in the Indian Ocean without ever seeing the tree on land. This led sailors and ancient people to believe it was a sacred fruit growing under the sea or a heavenly fruit with medicinal properties that could cure many diseases.

Due to its mystery and rarity, anyone who found a Coco de Mer in the past was required to present it to kings or sultans as a symbol of prestige. Later, it was discovered that the true origin of the Coco de Mer is a small island in the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

Nong Nooch Pattaya Garden, Asia’s largest Coco de Mer conservation site.

According to Nong Nooch Pattaya Garden, they currently care for and conserve this rare plant species with a total of 90 Coco de Mer trees, including 35 mature trees and 55 seedlings. They also plan to plant more seedlings to develop this area into a major global center for Coco de Mer conservation and propagation in the future.

This successful fruit opening and seed preparation for propagation not only reflect Thailand’s botanical potential on the international stage but also create opportunities for Thais and tourists to experience the wonder of a rare natural marvel seldom seen today.