Coconut trees are a type of palm tree that grows in warm, sandy places near the ocean, and people call them the “tree of life” because every part of the tree is useful! They can grow up to 100 feet tall with long, feathery leaves at the very top. A single coconut tree can make between 60 and 180 coconuts every time it is harvested, and it produces coconuts up to 13 times a year! The word “coconut” comes from an old Spanish word meaning “grinning face” because sailors long ago thought the three dots on a coconut shell looked like a funny monkey face.
Coconuts have a super hard shell on the outside, but inside they have sweet, refreshing water and yummy white fruit. Here is a fun surprise: coconuts are not actually nuts at all! They are a type of fruit, more like a peach or a plum. One of the coolest things about coconuts is that they can float in the ocean for up to 110 days and travel about 3,000 miles, which is enough to cross from one country to another! When a coconut finally washes up on a new beach, it can sprout and grow into a brand-new tree, which is how coconut trees have spread to tropical beaches all around the world.