# Do palm trees grow from seeds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105 "2018-10-17T20:11:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/21 "2018-10-18T04:38:10Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Is it? I’ve never seen a whole green cocodrupe in real life, but [the flesh looks pretty fleshy](https://sc02.alicdn.com/kf/UT8NBIGXuBaXXagOFbXm/NATURAL-DRINKS-FOR-HEALTH-FRESH-COCONUT.jpg). You mean the white stuff in the center? That’s not the “flesh,” that’s the coconut meat, which I said is the solid endosperm of the seed. Inside that is the coconut water, which is liquid endosperm. The pale yellow material surrounding it is the husk, which corresponds to the flesh or pulp of a typical drupe. It’s fibrous even in a green coconut. [A peach is a typical drupe.](https://cdn.apartmenttherapy.info/image/fetch/w_720,h_480,c_fill/https://s3.amazonaws.com/pixtruder/original_images/a9fc2a4267ea7c583bfdc5f1587341679d66ecd7) The pit corresponds to the coconut, the pulp corresponds to the husk. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/22 "2018-10-18T06:11:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You mean the white stuff in the center? That’s not the “flesh,” that’s the coconut meat, which I said is the solid endosperm of the seed. Inside that is the coconut water, which is liquid endosperm. The pale yellow material surrounding it is the husk, which corresponds to the flesh or pulp of a typical drupe. It’s fibrous even in a green coconut. > > [A peach is a typical drupe.](https://cdn.apartmenttherapy.info/image/fetch/w_720,h_480,c_fill/https://s3.amazonaws.com/pixtruder/original_images/a9fc2a4267ea7c583bfdc5f1587341679d66ecd7) The pit corresponds to the coconut, the pulp corresponds to the husk. I mean the thick layer of white “flesh” between the green skin and the round core part that you buy in supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/23 "2018-10-18T07:23:19Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > The coconut is not a nut. It’s a drupe. > [@Colibri](#): > > In common English, it’s a nut. It’s only a drupe if you are having a technical conversation with a botanist (or if you are being deliberately pedantic.;)) > > Tell someone you want to buy a cocodrupe and see how far it gets you. > > Merriam Webster Yeah, if you get silly-technical, most things we call nuts aren’t ‘true’ nuts :- Coconuts are drupes - so are almonds, walnuts, pecans Peanuts are legumes Brazil nuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, cashews and macadamias are just seeds Hazelnuts and acorns are true nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/24 "2018-10-18T08:32:49Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I mean the thick layer of white “flesh” between the green skin and the round core part that you buy in supermarkets. You will be surprised at how hard, dry and fibrous that flesh really is. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aeKgcCruDmk/maxresdefault.jpg "Coconut Husking Big Island Hawaii") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeKgcCruDmk) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/25 "2018-10-18T11:54:54Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Brazil nuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, cashews and macadamias are just seeds > > Hazelnuts and acorns are true nuts. Chestnuts are true nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/26 "2018-10-18T12:42:48Z")
I just glanced over at a three-foot palm in my office that I started from seed a few years ago (collected from a big tree on South Padre Island outside a restaurant where we ate). I have a ten-year-old Vietnamese pygmy date palm also started from seed. So yes, they grow more or less readily from seeds of various sizes and conformations. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/27 "2018-10-18T13:50:53Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I mean the thick layer of white “flesh” between the green skin and the round core part that you buy in supermarkets. As I said, that’s fibrous, not fleshy (although it corresponds to the flesh of a typical drupe). You need a machete to cut it. [Here’s an image with more detail.](http://www.shopgondia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/pro_152750.jpg) Trying to eat it would produce rather distressing results.😉 ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/28 "2018-10-18T14:30:40Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Just the other day I saw a squirrel come out of a palm tree with a palm seed in its mouth and bury it. I had never seen this happen before with any type of seed or nut. > > To be precise, the squirrel didn’t actually bury the seed so much as wedge it under a boulder and cover it with grass and leaves. But I’m still counting it. I live in the mid-atlantic region where squirrels are thicker than grass (just about) so we see this behavior all the time. We often see them burying or hiding food in the fall, and then in late winter when they start getting hungrier you see them digging around to find things that were tucked away in the fall. Also, our lawn is frequently full of little divits where the squirrels have been digging around. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/29 "2018-10-18T14:53:02Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > We have five baby palm trees that just popped up in our side yard. We have no idea where they came from. There are lots of squirrels in the neighborhood, could they have buried palm seeds? Is that where palm trees come from? palm kernel oil comes from the seed of the oil palm. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/30 "2018-10-18T16:05:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I know that at least some palm trees grow from seeds, but that those seeds are definitely not carried by squirrels. > > (African swallows, though, maybe) Yes, but what would the average airspeed velocity of a laden African swallow be? By the way, fresh green coconuts (by which I mean the same species that Americans usually call coconuts, but cut from the tree while green, before they fall) have a different taste of the water, and the flesh is much softer and sweeter than the more mature ones you’ll find in a grocery store. Apparently they don’t keep well though, so find your own Hawai’ian roadside vendor 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/31 "2018-10-18T16:17:02Z")
> [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](#): > > Yes, but what would the average airspeed velocity of a laden African swallow be? > > By the way, fresh green coconuts (by which I mean the same species that Americans usually call coconuts, but cut from the tree while green, before they fall) have a different taste of the water, and the flesh is much softer and sweeter than the more mature ones you’ll find in a grocery store. Apparently they don’t keep well though, so find your own Hawai’ian roadside vendor 🙂 Yes, here in Panama they’re called _pipas_ and commonly sold by the roadside with a small hole cut in the top and a straw. As the fruit matures, the liquid endosperm gradually becomes jellylike and then solidifies into what we commonly think of as coconut meat. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/32 "2018-10-18T17:00:11Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > As I said, that’s fibrous, not fleshy (although it corresponds to the flesh of a typical drupe). You need a machete to cut it. [Here’s an image with more detail.](http://www.shopgondia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/pro_152750.jpg) Trying to eat it would produce rather distressing results.😉 Is there any use at all for that part? [Whole Foods sells that food whole](https://www.instacart.com/whole-foods/products/16346088-green-coconut-in-husk-each) (probably at a high premium over the dehusked ones.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/33 "2018-10-18T17:08:09Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Is there any use at all for that part? [Whole Foods sells that food whole](https://www.instacart.com/whole-foods/products/16346088-green-coconut-in-husk-each) (probably at a high premium over the dehusked ones.) You can carve little trinkets to sell to tourists.😉 Otherwise I haven’t noticed any specific use. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/34 "2018-10-18T17:36:20Z")
[quote=“nearwildheaven, post:14, topic:823105”] Here’s a video of a woman opening, preparing, and eating a sprouted coconut. I learned a lot about coconuts just from watching this. Enjoy! [/QUOTE] Thanks, that is neat. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/35 "2018-10-18T18:22:26Z")
Last I heard, coconut rind was actually used to make supercapacitors. But I don’t know the exact details about which part of the fruit is used. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/36 "2018-10-18T18:25:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Last I heard, coconut rind was actually used to make supercapacitors. But I don’t know the exact details about which part of the fruit is used. he can do that, but can’t get 7 people off of an island a few hours away from Hawaii? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/37 "2018-10-18T18:30:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Last I heard, coconut rind was actually used to make supercapacitors. But I don’t know the exact details about which part of the fruit is used. I suspect it’s burned to make “fluffy” carbon. Back in my aquarium days, Coconut activated charcoal was the best - extremely fine powder with enormous surface area. A teaspoon would filter a 50 gallon tank until the water was so clear it was invisible. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/38 "2018-10-18T19:01:34Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > …Back in my aquarium days, Coconut activated charcoal was the best - extremely fine powder with enormous surface area. A teaspoon would filter a 50 gallon tank until the water was so clear it was invisible. What type of filter used the teaspoon of activated charcoal? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/39 "2018-10-18T19:59:06Z")
Yup, fluffy charcoal with high surface area. But I don’t know if that’s the green part that’s usually cleaned off before it gets to the store, or the brown part. And **jz** , I laughed. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105/40 "2018-10-18T20:10:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yup, fluffy charcoal with high surface area. But I don’t know if that’s the green part that’s usually cleaned off before it gets to the store, or the brown part. > > And **jz** , I laughed. Was it a hang on back filter, or a canister? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-palm-trees-grow-from-seeds/823105.md?page=3)