Seeds

This passage describes a special palm tree known as a "double coconut tree" that produces the largest seeds in the world.

Lexile Level: 940L

Categories: People & Places Animals & Nature

On a small island in the Indian Ocean grows a palm tree that produces the largest seed in the world. The seed of the double coconut palm tree can be a foot long and weigh more than 40 pounds. These huge seeds look like two coconuts growing together, which is why the tree is called a "double coconut." For a long time, when the nuts washed up on the shores, no one knew where they came from. People thought the nuts were magic and came from a tree growing on the bottom of the ocean. But in 1768, explorers found the double coconut palm growing on an island called Praslin. The double coconut has separate male and female trees. Only the female trees bear seeds, but not until the trees are 100 years old. People on the island once collected the nuts and sold them to tourists. That is no longer allowed. Today, the double coconut tree is protected as a rare species.