Cocos nucifera "Macapuna"

[TikiRick]

My good friend Paul Drummond gave me a seedling of this unusual coconut about 7 years ago. I planted the seedling on the side of my house, almost lost it to bud rot, but it came back with a fire! Hurricane Wilma blew it down across the roof, I roped up back upright, and look at this mother!

I believe that the seed is said to contain little or no milk, but is solid pulp. I think Paul told me it is native to the Philippines. I love the bronze gold color. This is the first time it has seeded.  Anyone know of this palm?

[Palmarum]

It is a rarer variety of coconut native to the Philippines, also known as Macapuno or Macapuno Tall. It goes by the name Ice Cream Coconut because the meat of the nut can be eaten with a spoon and does taste like ice cream. It is still highly unusual to find here in the states and rarely makes an appearance at palm sales.

Ryan

[Coloradoboi]

Beautiful.  Any photos of the entire palm?

[TikiRick]

(Coloradoboi @ Sep. 22 2007,16:08)

QUOTE

Beautiful.  Any photos of the entire palm?

Unfortunately it is on the side of the house and is difficult to get a full shot of it. ???  ???

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

Rick,

i hope you plan on germinating these nuts.  It sounds like a nice variety to cultivate.

Jerry

[Gbarce]

Yup -- exactly what Ryan said.

In the ice cream the meat is usually mixed in in slivers - not shredded which is the ususal way we use the coconut meat.

[Exotic Life]

Nice picture's, looks a nice variety... thanks for sharing this picture's i loe coconuts

Robbin

[Gileno Machado]

Wow...

I've heard of this species/variety before but I've never seen it (or the fruits) here in Brazil. I thought it was just some sort of a genetic accident mutation...Based on Rick's pictures and information it seems that it's also a fast grower and aboundant producer, looking quite like the regular tallies. Now I'd love to see pictures of the fruit opened showing the "flesh" inside.

Gene: Is this variety commonly found and cultivated in the Philippines?  Does it always produce viable seeds?

Hey Rick...save one of these coconuts for me, will ya?  

[Gbarce]

I don't really know much about it beyond what ryan already mentioned.

There must be a plantation somewhere becuase "makapuno" is often used in traditional desserts.  A company actually produces Makapuno flavored ice cream with actual slivers of the meat mixed in.

I've seen people shaking the nuts to distinguish between a regular one- very hollow sound with water gushing inside versus the makapuno variety which has a more compact sound.

I have not really seen seedlings of this variety being sold in plant shops or even teh local shows but then again I have not been looking for it either.

[TikiRick]

I will leave some of these seeds on the tree to maturity. The problem is that if they drop, they hit and dent my tin roof! So, I have been removing them prior to maturity. I would love to slice one open to show all on PalmTalk, the "meat''.

[gsn]

Rick,

Maybe you can rig some type of hoop fish net device under the canopy to catch them ,before they hit your roof?

Maybe some fish net material wrapped around the seeds,then tie wrapped at the base of the flower spathe where it connects to the trunk?

[TikiRick]

Scott,

Great idea....my neighbors already think I am crazy, so why not? I would love to pot up this wonderfully attractive (and apparently unusual) palm!

[gsn]

Rick,

Just save me a seed .So I can eventually watch it freeze up here in "nanook of the north country",east central Florida! :laugh:

[TikiRick]

Will do Scott.

Not the first time a coconut has frozen to death up there...and most probably not the last either!

[Moose]

The rarest of all the Coconut cultivars. Extremely low germination rate. This may Coconut may have more tropical requirements than the other cultivars. Mike Harris has one in his garden as well.

[Philpalm]

This is not actually a coconut variety. Coconuts produced will be mixed makapuno and the regular fruit produced on the same tree.

It is a mutation only and makapuno coconuts are not viable because they do not produce an embryo.

Here in the Philippines they are producing makapuno trees by tissue culture so every fruit harvested from the tree is makapuno for

commercial production. We have quite a few trees here on our property that sometimes bear makapuno nuts if we are lucky?.

As Gene mentioned they are easy to distinguish by the weight of the nut being quite heavy with a lot of meat inside.

What the Filipinos do here is scoop out the meat and add sugar and cook the whole lot, it sets like a jelly just fantastic stuff but dont eat too

much as it will make you trot to the pot (laxative) .

Jerry.

[redant]

"Here in the Philippines they are producing makapuno trees by tissue culture"

Sorry for any doubt, but is this really possible? Never heard of any palms produced by tissue culture.

[pindo]

"Here in the Philippines they are producing makapuno trees by tissue culture"

Sorry for any doubt, but is this really possible? Never heard of any palms produced by tissue culture.

In " Estacion Phoenix" in Elche, Spain, many years ago that P. dactyliferas are propagated by tissue culture

[Philpalm]

Yes they have been producing Makapuno coconut trees for years here by tissue culture and as mentioned

by Pindo "dates" also. I think in the US they have been doing some serious research on date cloning and come

up with some fantastic results. The University of Los Banos not far from where I live has been researching and

cloning these Makapuno and they sell them around 400 pesos each thats just around the $10 mark but the farmers here

dont have the capital to buy 100's of these for plantations so only a few have been planted, however the Philippine coconut Authority

has been working with the government to produce them at a more reasonable price.

On our property as mentioned we have around 200 coconut trees but the pink scale insect has just about got them beat so they will

be chopped down eventually for coco lumber. We have a new.. well not new, coconut variety called "Tacunan green dwarf" which has been

propagated in the thousands for release here in Batangas to all the farmer free of charge so hopefully these can be planted to replace the old

existing trees that dont produce good fruit after 30 years and many are already nearly dead from the insect infestation.

Just some info for those interested in coconuts.

Jerry.

[Jeff Searle]

Jerry,

Thanks to people like you, great information is shared with all of us. This is stuff I knew nothing about.

Jeff

[Jose Maria]

"Here in the Philippines they are producing makapuno trees by tissue culture"

Sorry for any doubt, but is this really possible? Never heard of any palms produced by tissue culture.

Here in Ciudad Neily ,Costa Rica , there is a company ASD-Costa Rica that produces thousands of oil-palms (Elaeis guineensis) with outstanding yield of fruit and oil by way of tissue culture.

[pindo]

We have a new.. well not new, coconut variety called "Tacunan green dwarf" which has been

propagated in the thousands for release here in Batangas to all the farmer free of charge so hopefully these can be planted to replace the old

existing trees that dont produce good fruit after 30 years and many are already nearly dead from the insect infestation.

Just some info for those interested in coconuts.

Jerry.

Could you send me more information about coconut variety "Tacunan green dwarf "

Thanks in advance

[redant]

http://www.pca.da.gov.ph/pdf/techno/tacunan.pdf

And some other interesting coconut economics..

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/coconut-juice-economics-063005915.html

Edited September 14, 2013 by redant

[TikiRick]

My macapuna coconut is now 13 years old from seed and is about 60' tall. I love it, but don't let the seed get to maturity since its strategically placed between my house and my neighbors. Also, i have a tin roof and can't risk coconuts falling and causing damage.

My palm is the prodigy of a mature one from the estate of the late Paul Drummond, Miami. He said his tree was brought back from the Phillipines circa 1972.

[Palmy]

My macapuna coconut is now 13 years old from seed and is about 60' tall.

Pix or it didn't happen.

Edited September 14, 2013 by Palmy

[Jastin]

Nice!

[Philpalm]

Jerry,

Thanks to people like you, great information is shared with all of us. This is stuff I knew nothing about.

Jeff

Jeff

Thanks for the nice comment its my pleasure and it is one of my interests here apart from propagating palms and plants

for the up and coming Philippine botanical gardens. There are coconuts trees everywhere here as you know but they have

got the wrong varieties in and I am on a kind of mission to try to change growing techniques/varieties etc etc..

There are some wonderful varieties of coconuts been put out here ,,its just the matter of educating the growers.

Jerry.

[Philpalm]

We have a new.. well not new, coconut variety called "Tacunan green dwarf" which has been

propagated in the thousands for release here in Batangas to all the farmer free of charge so hopefully these can be planted to replace the old

existing trees that dont produce good fruit after 30 years and many are already nearly dead from the insect infestation.

Just some info for those interested in coconuts.

Jerry.

Could you send me more information about coconut variety "Tacunan green dwarf "

Thanks in advance

Sorry there is not a great deal of info on the coconut varieties here only papers published by the PCA or agricultural

departments. The link that "Redant" posted is about it. I will get some more info when I visit UP Los Banos to talk

to the guys there about these new cultivars. (in time)

Jerry.

[Philpalm]

Guys.........

Just found this link on Tissue culture showing the Makapuno variety plants. Aussie run operation.

http://aciar.gov.au/files/node/14130/coconut_tissue_culture_for_clonal_propagation_and__65312.pdf

[pindo]

Thanks Guys for the links