
THE LARGEST AND HEAVIEST SEEDS IN THE PLANT WORLD 🌍.
In the islands of Praslin and Curieuse, in the Seychelles, grows one of the most exclusive palm trees in the world. The coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica) has tall slender trunks that rise more than 30 meters above the ground. At its crown is a mass of fronds, with leaf blades fanning out nearly five meters across. On mature individuals, the leaves are often fringed at the edges. Their withered ends hang from the palm below the vibrant, healthy green crown.
The coco de mer palm is dioecious – it has separate male and female plants that can take up to 50 years to reach sexual maturity, depending on environmental conditions – and its extremely slow growth rate has contributed to its endangered status.
When the fruit of a coco de mer falls into the sea, it cannot float because of its immense weight and density. Instead it sinks to the bottom. After spending a considerable period of time on the sea bed, the husk weakens and drops off. The internal parts of the nut decay, and the gases that form inside the nut makes it buoyant causing the bare nut to rise up to the surface.
📍 SEYCHELLES 🌍❤️.
📸: The tribeibeibe.