Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A fan-leaved palm (Lodoicea maldivica) native to the Seychelles, bearing the largest seed of all plants, which is enclosed in a hard shell resembling a pair of coconuts joined in the middle.
- n. The hard-shelled seed of this plant.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as double cocoanut (which see, under cocoanut).
Wiktionary
- n. A tall palm tree, Lodicea maldivica, found in the Seychelles.
- n. The woody nut of such a tree.
Etymologies
- French coco de mer, literally ‘nut of the sea’, because it was originally known only from its nuts found floating in the water. (Wiktionary)
- French : coco, coconut + de, of + mer, sea. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Prior to the discovery of Praslin, the alluring shell was periodically found floating in the ocean like a wet dream, leading sailors to speculate that it grew underwater hence the name coco-de-mer, or coconut of the sea.”
“This fruit, worshipped by a cult, grows only in the Seychelles, where it is called the coco-de-mer.”
“Tourism is affecting the stand structure of the coco-de-mer.”
“Savage and Ashton have studied the population structure of the coco-de-mer palm (1983) and the impact of tourism (1991).”
“There are considerable difficulties in effectively patrolling the area, and poaching of coco-de-mer nuts is a serious problem that might affect its future regeneration.”
“Collection of coco-de-mer nuts is controlled by law; their commercialization is a government monopoly.”
“All six endemic palm species to the Seychelles occur in the valley, and all belong to a monospecific genera; Deckenianobilis (V), Phoenicophorium borsigiana (V), coco-de-mer, Verschaffeltia splendida (V), Roscheria melanochaetes and Nephrosperma van-houtteana.”
“It is completely surrounded by the national park, a multiple use management area mainly devoted to the conservation of endemic forest, notably the coco-de-mer forest.”
“The main vegetation type within the valley comprises an intermediate palm forest characterized by the endemic palm coco-de-mer Lodoicea maldivica (V) (bearer of the largest seed in the plant kingdom).”
“Valleé de Mai is one of the few remaining areas where coco-de-mer forest occurs and is the only place where all six endemic palm species to the Seychelles are found together.”
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