The term coconut can refer to the whole coconut palm or the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut.
Coconuts are known for their great versatility, as evidenced by many traditional uses, ranging from food to cosmetics
Coconuts are distinct from other fruits for their large quantity of "water", and when immature, they are known as tender-nuts or jelly-nuts and may be harvested for their potable coconut water. When mature, they still contain some water and can be used as seednuts or processed to give oil from the kernel, charcoal from the hard shell, and coir from the fibrous husk.
It has generally been accepted that the coconut originated in the Indian-Indonesia region and float-distributed itself around the world by riding ocean currents
The coconut is the national tree of the Maldives and is considered the most important plant in the country. A coconut tree is also included in the country's national emblem and coat of arms
Coconut is an indispensable ingredient in Indonesian cooking. Coconut meat, coconut milk, and coconut water are often used in main courses, desserts, and soups throughout the archipelago
Coconuts in the Philippines are usually used in making main dishes, refreshments, and desserts. Coconut juice is also a popular drink in the country. In the Philippines, particularly Cebu, rice is wrapped in coconut leaves for cooking and subsequent storage; these packets are called puso. Coconut milk, known as gata, and grated coconut flakes are used in the preparation of dishes such as laing, ginataan, bibingka, ube halaya, pitsi-pitsi, palitaw, buko, and coconut pie. Coconut jam is made by mixing muscovado sugar with coconut milk
Traditional areas of coconut cultivation in India are the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal and the islands of Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar.
Copra is the dried meat of the seed and after processing produces coconut oil
Coconut palms are grown in more than 90 countries of the world, with a total production of 61 million tonnes per year
| Top coconut producers in 2014[
(millions of tonnes)
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | Production | |
 Indonesia | 19.1 | |
 Philippines | 14.7 | |
 India | 11.1 | |
 Brazil | 2.9 | |
 Sri Lanka | 2.2 | |
| 61.4 | ||
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