Coconuts are the fruit of the coconut palm tree, which originated in Southeast Asia, probably Malaysia, and was transported throughout the Pacific either by migrating Indonesians and Polynesians or on the drifting ocean currents.
The botanical name for the coconut is cocos nucifera, with cocos believed to come from Spanish, meaning "monkey-faced" or "eerie-faced" and nucifera from Latin meaning nut-bearing plant. The tree can live as long as 100 years producing an annual yield of 50 to 100 coconuts.
By law, coconuts need to be removed if the tree is along the street.
The tree blooms every 28 days. From the time the fruit sets, to full maturity averages nine months
| Kingdom | Plantae – Plants |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta – Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
| Division | Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants |
| Class | Liliopsida – Monocotyledons |
| Subclass | Arecidae – |
| Order | Arecales – |
| Family | Arecaceae – Palm family |
| Genus | Cocos L. – coconut palm |