Coconut palm
A slender ringed trunk, curved, under a crown of arching fronds.
About 9 m tall out in the open. In the old forests it towers far higher: most stand two to four times that, the tallest up to nine times, and now and then an old giant stands among the rest.
Where it grows
Section titled “Where it grows”| Land | How many of the trees |
|---|---|
| Jungle | One in five |
| By water in the savanna and the jungle | Half the waterside trees |
| Warm coasts, within 150 m of the sea | All the trees, leaning inland and a little stunted |
| Warm beaches | All the trees |
Trees of a kind keep together in stands about 60 m across.
Through the year
Section titled “Through the year”It keeps its leaves all year.
In play
Section titled “In play”Its trunk stops men and horses, who go round it. Wildfire leaves it black and bare, and burnt or felled ground grows back over about four years.