The Coconut Palm
The coconut palm is a tall and majestic tree. It grows only in a warm climate, and mostly on sandy sea-shores.
The coconut palm is one of the most useful plants in the world. Nearly every part of this tree is useful. Let us see how.
When the coconut is broken, delicious water comes out. People put straws in the coconut and drink this refreshing water. It keeps them cool during the hot summer days. The white kernel is eaten and is used in cooking tasty food. The dried kernel is known as copra. The oil from the coconut palm is used for cooking, massaging the scalp and the body and in preparing medicines. The coir is used for making mats, carpets and wall hangings. These come in many attractive colours and designs. Ropes, blinds and curtains are also made of coir. Coir is obtained from the hard shell of the coconut fruit.
The leaves are used as brooms to sweep houses, and in South India, and parts of Bengal, roofs are thatched with dry leaves from the tree.
We can all guess what the wood is used for— furniture, of course!
What a wonderful tree this is! It is often called the wish-fulfilling tree, for many wishes are granted by worshipping it. But nothing can surpass the joy we experience, watching the palms swaying in the breeze.
