Palms are regarded as being second only to the grasses in term of their economic importance. Palm are used extensively for a vast range of purposes including food, house construction, magic, medicine, weaving, clothing, decoration, and even writing materials-the earlier literature in the region was written on the leave of the lontar palm.
Coconut
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| palm fruit |
Coconut (cocos nucifera) is probably the most economically important and widely distributed of all palm. This wonderfully useful plant probably originated in eastern Indonesia or Malanesia (although many believe it is of heavenly origin), but is now found in nearly all tropical countries. The fruit disperse naturally by floating in ocean currents, but the present distribution is largely a result of deliberate planting by people. It is a large palm, growing up to 30 meters, with a slender stem which is slightly swollen at the base, often curved or slanted with a crown of spirally arranged, pinnate leaves. The inflorescence is produced in the leaf axils and bears separate male and female flowers. The first flowers and fruit are produced after six years and fruiting continuous up to 70 years. Fruits mature in about 12 months, by which time they reach an average weight of 1.5 kilograms, ripening to green, brown or yellow-orange.
Coconut Product
Product from this coconut is very immeasurable, from starting domestic product like rib broom, roof and constrictor in countrified, food product like nata de coco, coconut gist, coconut sugar until requirement for the food-stuff in kitchen. All part of this coconut tree can be exploited, from root until coconut sprout, in its own plantation area and also in urban. Young leaf made become an ornament for the event of traditional and also at formal event of governance; the old leaf can be made as rib broom. Coconut ovary can be taken its gist to be made coconut sugar, drinked ordinary of middle aged fruit and eaten its fruit is very fresh and enjoyed, old fruit can be taken their water to be made of nata de coco and part of its fruit can be made as coconut mink to cook or to be made as coconut oil. Part of tree bar can be made as construction material, furniture of house and the rest can be used for the firewood of. Part of its root can be made as ornament and rest of the rest lignified to burn.
