54o 
Fruit  of  Co  cos  Nucifera. 
[Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
I  November,  1901. 
The  mesocarp  (Fig.  j,  Mes),  consists  ot  a  hard  outer  coat  but 
a  few  millimetres  thick  and  a  soft  portion,  usually  3-4  cm.  thick,  on 
the  sides  and  much  thicker  on  the  base.  Imbedded  in  the  meso- 
carp are  numerous  longitudinally  arranged  fibers,  varying  in  size 
from  slender  hairs  to  large,  sparingly  branching  and  anastomosing, 
flattened  forms,  2-3  m.m.  broad.  The  large  fibers  are  situated 
chiefly  in  the  inner  layers,  with  their  flat  surfaces  parallel  with  the 
surface  of  the  nut. 
Oftentimes  the  inner  layers  of  the  mesocarp  become  impreg- 
nated with  a  brown  fluid,  which  on  drying,  gives  the  thin  tissue  a 
mottled  brown  appearance. 
Fig.  3.  Ripe  cocoanut  fruit.  S,  lower  part  of  axis  forming  the  stem  ;  A, 
upper  end  of  axis  with  scars  of  male  flowers  ;  Epi,  epicarp  ;  Mes,  mesocarp 
with  fibers  ;  End,  endocarp  or  hard  shell  ;  T,  portion  of  testa  adhering  to 
endosperm  ;  Alb,  endosperm  surrounding  cavity  of  the  nut ;  K,  germinating 
eye.    X  \, 
The  endocarp,  or  shell  {Fig.  3,  End),  consists  of  a  hard,  dark 
brown  coat,  2-6  m.m.  thick,  with  numerous  fibers  adhering  to  the  sur- 
face. Three  nearly  equidistant  ridges  (often  indistinct)  pass  from 
base  to  apex,  where  they  unite  to  form  a  blunt  point.  At  the  basal 
end,  between  the  ridges,  are  the  three  depressions  or  eyes,  the  tis- 
sues of  which  are  much  softer  and  thinner  than  of  the  rest  of  the 
shell  {Fig.  3,  K).    Through  the  softest  of  these  eyes  the  embryo, 
