Sprouting coconuts

[estación seca]

Thanks for the info! My friends who brought theirs back from Hawaii (already sprouting, with the entire husk still attached) are not plant people in the least. It lived for them for many years in a somewhat dimly lit house, 6 feet from a west window. They had it in a pot just larger in diameter than the husk. They gave it away when they moved out of state to somebody who left it outside the first winter and killed it.

I don't think you can ship coconuts in husk any longer. A yellowing disease is threatening coconuts worldwide. But almost all the husked coconuts sold in markets are viable when they arrive at the store.

Monocots (including palms) owe their bending strength to their structure. Dicots, including most broad-leafed trees, have a very thin layer of living vascular tissue, to carry water and nutrients, just under the bark. It runs from roots to the top of the plant. The old, inner parts of the stem turn to wood, which isn't hard to break with twisting or horizontal forces in a strong wind.

Monocots have numerous bundles of living vascular tissue scattered throughout the stem, running from the roots up the entire length of the plant. Trying to snap a palm tree is like trying to break an extremely thick section of jute or sisal rope. The thicker the stem, the more bundles. Palm trees are defoliated and uprooted by wind, but almost never snapped off.

The downside to this structure is almost no palms can be rooted from stem cuttings. (Nor leaf cuttings.) They don't have living tissue anywhere near the outside of the trunk that can extrude new roots, and the plant dies before rooting if the stem is cut transversely. Some clustering palm offsets can be separated at the base, if they are already forming roots. But solitary palms generally can't be grown from cuttings.

I have heard anecdotal, unverified reports that date palms (Phoenix dactylifera, a clustering palm) will root from the trunk if an air layer box is built around the trunk, filled with soil and kept wet. I've been tempted to try it with a palm in my front yard, but my neighbors already think I'm crazy.

[DirtyCoconuts]

There are four edible phases of the coconut


Stolen from a website :
First Stage

Flowers form near the trunk of the coconut tree around the palm leaves. From these flowers, the "nut" or pei forms. Because these bright green fruit are small and immature, they often fall from the tree. Those that are able to survive burrowed within the tree leaves will continue to grow. Even in this immature state, the larger nuts can hold up to 1 liter of coconut water inside. This liquid is commonly drained and used in coconut water.
Second Stage

Eventually, the green coconut begins to ripen and turn brown. At this point it begins to develop a gel-like layer just under the surface. If the pulp is taken from the shell, it will have a soft but solid consistency. This is the familiar white coconut meat or pulp. Cans of coconut milk purchased in stores have meat from this stage of maturity.

Third Stage

While the coconut is still on the palm tree and continuing to mature, it is becoming larger and its husk is becoming harder. This is when the edible usefulness transitions. Almost all of its use comes from harvesting the now hardened meat or pulp. It can be taken out of the shell, dried and eaten in flakes. It can also be dried and converted to coconut oil. The milk within the coconut is now tasteless and is not as plentiful as in earlier stages.
Fourth Stage

If the coconut is never harvested, it becomes fully mature and begins to germinate. Coconut germination is when the coconut starts to reduce itself and prepare for budding to start the cycle over again. The coconut meat and liquid become fully absorbed and a ball forms within the coconut. This ball can be eaten, but it is not advisable to do so because the sweet ball inside can also be poisonous.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

There are four edible phases of the coconut


The coconut meat and liquid become fully absorbed and a ball forms within the coconut. This ball can be eaten, but it is not advisable to do so because the sweet ball inside can also be poisonous.

See, now that you said it is not advisable to eat a sprouted coconut, I want to do it even more. Just to see what happens. I've read about people eating it, but never read anything about it being toxic. The internet says it is DELICIOUS, and the internet never lies.

[estación seca]

Don't lick Colorado River toads!

[JScott]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Don't lick Colorado River toads!

LOL, I see what you're doing there but the internet does NOT say that the Colorado river toads are delicious. And anyway, I wouldn't know where to find a Colorado river toad. Presumably in the rivers of Colorado, but Colorado is, like, up there somewhere, and I'm a Southern guy. I can't imagine what possible situation could bring me to Colorado.

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by JScott

...but Colorado is, like, up there somewhere, and I'm a Southern guy. I can't imagine what possible situation could bring me to Colorado.

Elementary JScott... A search for a Colorado river toad to lick.

Edited to add: Then of course I had to google Colorado river toad to see what all the fuss was about. Wikipedia describes its call...

Its call is described as, “a weak, low-pitched toot, lasting less than a second.”

I have a dog that does that.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Elementary JScott... A search for a Colorado river toad to lick.

Well I guess we're taking a road trip to Colorado, yeah?

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by JScott

Well I guess we're taking a road trip to Colorado, yeah?

WW did her homework. They are native to the lower Colorado River valley and the lower Sonoran Desert, including metro Phoenix and Tucson. I don't think you'll find any in Colorado.

[JScott]

OMG I just looked at the Wiki article about it, and it says the exudate from the skin contains 5-MeO-DMT. Back in my college days, you could buy that (among many other synthetic substances) from certain gray market chemical suppliers (labeled NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION even though that was exactly what it was for), and I tried it twice hahahaha, and it was wild. So maybe licking these toads won't be so bad

---------- Post added at 09:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

WW did her homework. They are native to the lower Colorado River valley and the lower Sonoran Desert, including metro Phoenix and Tucson. I don't think you'll find any in Colorado.

I got distracted after it said 5-MeO-DMT, and I'm not gonna lie, I didn't read the rest of it haha

(but it is irresponsible to experiment with untested substances, and I was foolish to have done so, and am lucky to have come through unscathed. I do not condone this behavior)

---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 PM ----------

Also, the article says it lives in desert and semi-arid areas. So that's kind of a dumb name for a toad that lives neither in Colorado, nor in rivers (and yes, I did read the part about the Colorado River going through its range, but I stand by my assessment of the name).

[DirtyCoconuts]

I eat sprouted coconuts all the time. I guess there is a point of diminishing return bc it gets hard and dry if the sprout is really big

I don’t think I have ever heard that warning. They are sold as food so I don’t think it is true.

I warned you that i just stole that off the google lol