Coconut

Coconut fruit is light, buoyant and highly water resistant and can disperse significant distances via marine currents. Coconuts received the name from Portuguese explorers, the sailors of Vasco da Gama in India, who first brought them to Europe. The brown and hairy surface of coconuts reminded them of a ghost called coco (known in Castilian as El coco).When coconuts arrived in England, they retained the coco name and the suffix -nut was added. The white, fleshy part of the seed, the coconut meat, is edible and used fresh or dried in cooking. The cavity is filled with coconut water which contains sugar, fiber, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and is a highly nutritious food source. It is used as a refreshing drink throughout the humid tropics and is also used in isotonic sports drinks.