Double coconut: The largest seed in the world
Large seeds at a big risk
Due to overharvesting, there are now only around 8,000 wild mature Lodoicea palms on just the two islands of Praslin and Curieuse.
The species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
To protect them from going extinct, seeds in the wild and in botanical gardens worldwide that have manged to grow them, are carefully guarded, sometimes even placed in cages, to prevent poaching.
Palms closely related to the double coconut also produce seeds that are among the largest in the world, and far larger than most other palm seeds - although much smaller than those of the double coconut (up to 10cm long).
Studying Lodoicea could provide the key to understanding the evolutionary forces that lead plants to produce very large seeds.
Due to overharvesting, there are now only around 8,000 wild mature Lodoicea palms on just the two islands of Praslin and Curieuse.
The species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
To protect them from going extinct, seeds in the wild and in botanical gardens worldwide that have manged to grow them, are carefully guarded, sometimes even placed in cages, to prevent poaching.
Palms closely related to the double coconut also produce seeds that are among the largest in the world, and far larger than most other palm seeds - although much smaller than those of the double coconut (up to 10cm long).
Studying Lodoicea could provide the key to understanding the evolutionary forces that lead plants to produce very large seeds.
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08 April 2023
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