Jo Ellen McLeod, age 14, of Champaign, Ill., for her question:
WHERE DO COCONUTS GROW?
Coconuts grow on graceful coconut palm trees that are 40 to 100 feet tall. The trees are probably native to Southern Asia and the islands of Melanesia in the Pacific, but man has introduced them to all of the tropical and subtropical parts of the world..
Leading coconut growing areas in the world today, in order of importance, are the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
The coconut is one of the world's most useful trees. People in the tropics build houses and bridges from the wood. They use whole leaves to make thatch roofs and strips of leaves to make hats, mats and baskets. A sweet drink called toddy or tuba comes from the sap of the trees' blossoms. The sap also can be made into sugar, vinegar and an alcoholic beverage.
Clusters of large round coconut fruit grows among leaves that grow at the top the tree. Each coconut has a smooth, light colored rind. Under the rind is a one to 2 inch husk of reddish brown fibers. The husk and rind surround a brown woody shell that has three soft spots called eyes at one end. Rinds and husks are usually cut away before coconuts are marketed.
Inside the shell is a ball of crisp, white, sweet tasting coconut meat covered by milk. The meaty part measures from 8 to 12 inches long and from 6 to 10 inches across.
A well tended palm tree can produce 100 coconuts each year. Each fruit takes a year to ripen. Ripe coconuts fall from the tree.
The solid, dried coconut meat is called copra, which contains a valuable oil used for cooking and to make margarine and soap.
Tropical lands produce millions of tons of copra each year. It takes about 6,000 medium sized coconuts for each ton of copra.
To make copra, coconuts are split open and dried in the sun or in ovens. Some coconuts are dried by smoking.
Throughout the world people enjoy eating crisp, juicy chunks of fresh coconut meat. Shredded and dried, it adds a distinctive flavor and texture to candy bars and other foods.
People in the tropics also use the coconut husk. They weave its short stiff fibers, which are called coir, into mats, ropes and brooms.
To grow a new coconut palm tree, a coconut is half buried in a horizontal position. Within six months, a single leaf sprouts from one of the eyes and pushes through the husk.
The young tree can be transplanted after one to four years. It will bear fruit in seven or eight years.
Coconut palms need much water and a temperature of at least 72 degrees Fahrenheit most of the year.