cocos 



cocos 



813 



for example, in the Composite. Structurally, it is more 

 like a drupe, for the fibrous husk is formed from the 

 outer part of the pericarp, and the hard shell inclosing 

 the meat from the inner. In other words the husk is 

 exocarp and the shell endocarp. The milk of the coconut 

 is unsolidified endosperm. In the cereal grains it is 

 the endosperm which affords most of the material used 

 for human food. Only a part of the liquid matter of the 

 coconut solidifies, and the milk is left in the center. 

 The eyes of the coconut (Fig. 1011) mark the positions 

 of the micropyles, and germination takes place only 

 through the larger one. Palm pistils are three-carpelled 

 and each carpel in Cocos has one ovule. The marks of 

 the three carpels are seen in Fig. 1011, but only one 

 ovule develops into a seed. Fig. 1012 tells the story 

 of the growth of a coconut. In a, the young nut is 

 enveloped by three petals and three sepals. At b, the 

 pericarp has far outgrown the sepals and petals. 

 Sometimes the floral envelopes remain when the nut is 

 picked. Coconuts, like many other fruits, often grow to 

 a considerable size without pollination, and then perish. 



Of the species cultivated for ornament, C. Wed- 

 delliana is by far the most important. It is sold in 

 great quantities from 3- and 4-inch pots when the 

 plants are 12 to 15 inches high. They are favorite 

 house-plants, as their culture is easy, and they grow 

 slowly and retain their beauty a long while. They are 

 much used in fern-dishes. As a house-plant, C. Wed- 

 delliana is probably the most popular species of all the 

 smaller palms. It is especially suitable for table deco- 

 ration. In distinguishing tropical from subtropical 

 regions, the coconut is an excellent guide. It flourishes 

 best where frost is never known, although there are 

 magnificent specimens at Miami and Palm Beach, 

 Florida, both places having rare but sharp frosts. The 

 oil extracted from the nuts is an important article of 

 commerce. The fiber refuse is much used by florists 

 and gardeners. Being open, spongy, very retentive of 

 moisture, clean and easily handled, it is a favorite 

 material in which to root bedding-plants and to start 

 very small seeds; but it is not used for permanent 

 potting. See U. S. Dept. Agric., Bull, of Div. of Ent. 

 (new series) 38 : 20-3, for a report of diseased coconuts. 

 For culture of Cocos under glass, see Palms. 



Cocos in Florida. The species of the C. australis 

 group (as known in the trade) are dry-land palms, the 

 best and most beautiful palms adapted to poor sandy 

 soils in Florida. In moist and rich ground they are sub- 

 ject to diseases, particularly to blight. On dry land, they 

 thrive with great vigor, and although slow growers, 

 they are strikingly beautiful specimens when only a few 

 years old. They look best in groups of five or even a 

 dozen planted together (about 12 to 15 feet apart). 

 After they have formed trunks 5 to 10 feet high they 

 are very impressive, particularly when the background 

 consists of tall bamboos or dark evergreens such as 

 Magnolia grandiflora or live-oaks. All the species of 

 this group have leaves more or less glaucous, silvery 

 white or bluish green. The leaflets are often very 

 hard to the touch very rigid. The petiole at its base 

 is provided with short blunt spines. The roots are 

 brown and quite numerous, but the root-system is very 

 shallow, the trunks do not rest deep in the ground as is 

 the case with the Sabal and Phoenix species, and for 

 this reason they are easily blown over or they acquire a 

 leaning disposition. In planting these palms, they 

 should be set in a saucer-like cavity, which can be 

 filled up gradually. Both young and old plants are 

 easily transplanted in November and December, but it 

 is always advisable to plant only young specimens. 

 Few palms require so little care and fertilizer as these 

 Cocos species. A good application of stable manure as 

 a mulch when the rainy season begins helps them along 

 wonderfully, or they many be fertilized with a com- 

 bination consisting of equal parts of ammonia, phos- 

 phoric acid and potash. The flowers are always inclosed 



in a club-like spathe varying in size from a large walk- 

 ing-stick to a baseball club. These spathes burst open 

 with a crack and reveal the much-branched flower-spike, 

 varying in color from a creamy white, yellowish, 

 lavender-crimson to a deep violet. The fruits also vary 

 in size and color. Some of them are not larger than a 

 large pea, others as large as a plum, some are yellowish 

 and others orange and red in color. (H. Nehrling.) 



Cocos in California. After passing through a severe 

 test during the first week in January of the year 1913, 

 the several species of Cocos palms are in a condition 

 in which one may safely judge of their comparative 

 hardiness. In the Cocos palms found in local gar- 

 dens are two very distinct groups. These two groups 

 may each contain but one species having several varie- 



1013. Cocos Weddelliana. 



ties, or they may consist of several species as they are 

 known "in the trade," and it is upon the latter basis 

 they are here" dealt with. (1) The dwarf group is com- 

 monly and widely represented by the one known as 

 C. australis and the other and less-known kinds are 

 catalogued as C. Alphonsi, C. Bonnettii, C. campestris, 

 C. Gaertneri, and C. Yatay. Occasionally two others, C, 

 odorata and C. pulposa, are listed. All those named are 

 quite hardy and may safely be planted from Los 

 Angeles to San Francisco without fear of losing them 

 through freezing, though in places some may get 

 "scorched" while young. With age all become quite 

 hardy. (2) To a taller and more striking group, belong 

 those of which C. plumosa is the best known and, unfor- 

 tunately, most widely planted type. These are C. 

 botryophora, C. coronata, C. Datil, C. flexuosa, C. plu- 

 mosa, and C. Romanzoffiana. Of these six four have 

 proved quite tender and three quite hardy, the latter 

 lot resistant to at least a half-dozen degrees more of 

 cold than the former. The tender ones are: C. botryo- 

 phora, C. coronata, C. plumosa, and C. Romanzoffiana. 

 Those proving hardy over all of southern California 

 in 1913 were C. Datil and C. flexuosa, the latter the 



