In article ,
"P van Rijckevorsel" wrote:

Phred schreef
Well, for coconuts, amateurs usually find an axe or cane-knife
handy. (The pros use a sharpened wooden stake.)

Well let's at least try and stay on the level.
Opening a coconut with a wooden stake will seriously affect the viability as
a seed, so this is not to be recommended.

No, I was merely saying how you can get the husk off quickly so you're
left with just the "seed" -- but my botany was too long ago for me to
recall details of the classification of seeds. 8-)

So what *is* the seed in the coconut fruit? Just the embryo? (Well,
no, I don't think so. But they [coconut embryos] are really nice and
crunchy, with an exquisite flavour -- if you can get them at the right
stage of development. :-) Basically there's a tough outside layer,
then a fibrous layer, then a hard shell (with the "eyes" which are why
my grandmother said they would never fall on you -- totally wrong of
course), then a brown "skin" on the white flesh, then the liquid, and
finally the embryo itself. I think that's the lot.

A very safe (as concerns viability) way to transport coconuts is to commit
them to the sea. This species has MY of experience with this mode of
transport. Cheap, too. Downside is problems with exact delivery. Time frame
may be off a little, too.

Actually, this is behind one of the great debates in this part of the
world. The "plant xenophobes" would rid the continent of *all*
exotic plants if it were possible. But as a start they've picked on
coconuts (along with very few other species -- and not including
wheat, maize, potatoes, sugar cane, apples ... but you get the
point .

Seems there's a view that coconuts are not native to Australia. Given
that they are dispersed so readily by sea as you point out, and they
occur all around large parts of the Pacific, it's really hard to
believe that they didn't arrive "naturally" in Australia too.

The "death to coconuts" gang suggest that the Great Barrier Reef may
have prevented them coming ashore where they would have been best
adapted. (And they may have a point when one looks at prevailing
ocean currents -- but one of my mates also suggests the aborigines
just ate them as fast as they arrived! ;-)

Note that an axe or cane-knife is almost obligatory for some species of
Lecythidaceae, for amateurs and pro's alike!
PvR


Cheers, Phred.

--
LID