I'd rather have a bowl of coco...nuts?

[Storm]

This has been bugging me for AGES! I'm also the one who started this debate with a friend since im so confused!

WHAT ARE COCONUTS?

Are they nuts? They have a thick outer casing like nuts are called cocoNUTS, but wait! They have a fleshy inside with juices... like a fruit! BUT WAIT! FRUITS HAVE PIPS IN THEM! Coconuts do NOT have pips!

AAARRRGGGHHH! Any suggestions?

[Mistress Sheena]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconuts

Coconuts are fruit. Heh.

[Neo Necron]

Aaaaah Wikipedia. The Oracle of all knowledge.

Hmm.... question is answered.... if we can steer this somehow into a discussion we can keep this thread open, otherwise I'll bust a close button on it's ass.

[Mistress Sheena]

Uh.. maybe we can discuss what we first thought they were. =P
I originally thought coconuts were nuts, haha.

[Neo Necron]

To be honest I never really thought about it. They're coconuts and forever more shall be.

I think somebody once told me that brazil nuts aren't actually nuts, they're seeds. I also heard that only 30% of them or something are actually from Brazil.

How true that is I don't know. I would consult the great wikipedia... but I'm lazy. It also makes an interesting rumour if it isn't true.

[Sasquatch]

Aren't all nuts seeds?

Ah, good ol' niggertoes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_nut

"If both the orchids and the bees are present, the fruit takes 14 months to mature after pollination of the flowers, and is a large capsule 10–15 cm diameter resembling a coconut in size and weighing up to 2 kg. It has a hard, woody shell 8–12 mm thick, and inside contains 8–24 triangular seeds 4–5 cm long (Brazil nuts) packed like the segments of an orange; it is not a true nut in the botanical sense. ... Despite their name, the most significant exporter of Brazil nuts is not Brazil but Bolivia, where they are called almendras."

That, I didn't know. Learn something new everyday, huh?

Homer: Oh look, Brazil nuts!
Brazilian guy: Oh, we just call them "nuts" around here.

"In some parts of the world, trained monkeys are used to harvest coconuts. Training schools for monkeys still exist in southern Thailand. Competitions are held each year to discover the fastest harvester."

That's awesome.

[hellbred]

Coconuts are in the produce/fruits/veggies/herbs section in my grocery store.... where nuts are by the potato chips =X

[Storm]

Coconuts never cease to amaze me! All hail the now-proclaimed-fruit who's identity was shrouded in mist! *hails the coconut*

That article Eve found is actually really interesting... i never knew coconuts were so ancient! "Fossil records from New Zealand indicate that small, coconut-like plants grew there as far back 15 million years ago. Even older fossils have been uncovered in Rajasthan & Maharashtra, India." WOW! theres even a coconut research centre and a coconut festival... i'm so going to the tropics!

The brazil nut stuff is also interesting.

Hmmm... Hazel nuts, are actually really healthy and are a balenced diet all in one nutshell (excuse the phrase!) "The flesh of a typical nut includes 16% protein and 62% unsaturated oil. In addition it contains significant levels of thiamine and niacin and high levels of calcium, phosphorus and potassium. Additionally, for those persons who need to restrict carbohydrates, 1/4 L. of hazelnut flour has 20 gm of carbohydrates, 12 gm fiber, for less than 10 net carbohydrates."

[hellbred]

"Coconuts are a natural laxative."

- Tom Hanks, Cast Away

[relm]

dood, I think those are seeds, honestly cuz
if you plant them they make another tree.

But out of those choices I think its more of a
fruit than a nut hehe. ^^;;

[Omega]

I personally think it's a nut. I don't care what wikipedia says, I hate that site. Regardless it may be a fruit, but I'll always visualize it as a nut, since that's what it's exterior looks like, but who knows.

[hellbred]

It's probably a seed. However, wouldn't it be considered the 'fruit' of a palm tree? Then again, it can be planted as a seed to produce more... where as you can't plant an orange and make an orange grove, unless you got lucky! I think?

The coconut matures like a fruit or veggie as well. I don't know what it is, but when I look at it I think of a fruit... since I don't eat coconuts by the handful as most would a nut or a seed.

[Sasquatch]

...no, you would plant orange seeds to make an orange grove. Orange seeds are found in oranges. Nuts are basically seeds, as well, they're just surrounded by a harder shell, or some special crap like that.

Can you plant coconuts and have them grow into trees?

I guess I've always kind of thought of it as a fruit, because it's sweet. Of course, I'm sweet too, and I'm no fruit .