The amazing versatile Coconut Palm tree is a gift, often taken for granted except by the people who know the true value of this tree. Koh Samui Thailand is home to so many of these trees and some very clever Thai people have worked out how to make use in ways we would never know. Coconut is a plant in the Palm family. While we call it coconut, it is actually an abbreviation of coconut palm and has the scientific name of Cocos Nucifera. Coconuts are grown abundantly throughout the tropics for seed consumption. The plant is widely used for ornamental purposes in tourist resorts around the world; its leaves are used for weaving, it's shell for making jewelery and charcoal and it's husk for making coir, mats, and brooms, among other things. The fruit is an important oilseed source, especially in many developing countries, such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, parts of West Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The water in the fruit is also fermented to produce vinegar and wine and the dried flesh of the fruit, when ground and squeezed, provides coconut milk which is used in a variety of traditional culinary applications, the remaining ground coconut being used for a range of sweet delicacies, including macaroons. Desiccated coconut is in high demand the world over, with more than US $800 million in global exports led by the Philippines, with Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam showing significant export growth in the last few years.Some building companies are exploring ways to use the timber as structure source and flooring. The humble Coconut palm is so much more than just a food source.
