When one thinks of a tropical beach, they usually picture a palm tree hanging over clear blue water. Indeed, coconut palms are common sights on tropical beaches around the world. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, coconut palms bear fruit abundantly, and coconut fruits are coconut icing in all sorts of products these days. Did you know that there are many different types of coconuts?

You can find them all over the world as they make up a large portion of the plants in many tropical and subtropical ecosystems. There is only one species of coconut palm: Cocos nucifera. The species is ubiquitous among tropical beaches around the world, but it’s not entirely clear where the species originated. Coconut palms most likely came from Southeast Asia and Indonesia and were then distributed around the world by humans for cultivation. They can be separated into tall and dwarf varieties, but before we go into the different types of coconuts, let’s go over what makes the coconut fruit so special!