The Origin of the Coconut

[virtualpalm]

This was posted to the NZPalmCycad Yahoo group. I found it very interesting and thought some of you might enjoy it as well.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtomics/2011/08/01/coconuts-not-indigenous-but-quite-at-home-nevertheless/

Jody

[floridagrower]

There was some research that scientifically dated the oldest coconuts to Northern Brazil. And if you question that, it is also fact that nearly all of the cocoides are native to this region. That certainly cannot be debated.

[palmcurry]

Thanks for the link. Great to see SA's rendition of this old issue.

[sarasota alex]

The origin of the coconut is in fact one of the most debated and heavily researched topics in Anthropology today. The human history is very tight with the history of the coconut. The early humans from Indochina reached Australia about 50,000 year ago and about 30,000 years ago reached the South Pacific Islands. Could the humans contributed or even be responsible for the modern distribution of the coconut palm? Absolutely! In that case it probably originates from the Southern Asia somewhere. Is 50,000 years a long enough period for any environmental and/or evolutionary changes to cause the cosmopolitan distribution of Cocos nucifera? Probably.

When I lived in NY I've seen coconuts wash ashore there. Reportedly some even sprout sometimes. They have been seen washed ashore as far north as Norway. They can really spread themselves.

[John in Andalucia]

Bookmarked - thank you.

Since the introduction mentions the Providencia and her cargo, it might be worth linking this recent topic: http://www.palmtalk....ndpost&p=475409

[Alberto]

..................... In that case it probably originates from the Southern Asia somewhere. Is 50,000 years a long enough period for any environmental and/or evolutionary changes to cause the cosmopolitan distribution of Cocos nucifera? Probably.

Strange that ALL the other cocosoids comes from (south) AMERICA and this cocosoid from Asia????

The genetically closest palms to Cocos nucifera are Syagrus sp and Lytocaryum sp.

I don´t believe that Cocos is an isolated cocosoid originated far from all the others of the ´´family´´.

[Walter John]

It's not about where it comes from, it's about where it's going to...

[Tropicgardener]

The 'Environmental Native Nazi's' here in Queensland argue that they are not native to here and were introduced by white Europeans, but when you speak to Aboriginal and Torres Strait elders along Cape York and in the islands they will tell you a different story.......they say that Coconuts have been here long before white man ever was here.

[bubba]

Great article. It is interesting that the date of the sinking of the Providencia is always Jan. 9 but I have seen the year reported in various articles ranging from 1869,1876 and 1879. I believe it was Jan. 9, 1879. Still reiterating that it was believed to be an insurance scam and chance for a big party.

[sarasota alex]

..................... In that case it probably originates from the Southern Asia somewhere. Is 50,000 years a long enough period for any environmental and/or evolutionary changes to cause the cosmopolitan distribution of Cocos nucifera? Probably.

Strange that ALL the other cocosoids comes from (south) AMERICA and this cocosoid from Asia????

The genetically closest palms to Cocos nucifera are Syagrus sp and Lytocaryum sp.

I don´t believe that Cocos is an isolated cocosoid originated far from all the others of the ´´family´´.

Alberto, I don't think there is any doubt about the South American origin of the Cocos genus, but it does appear that Cocos nucifera species originated from the Western Pacific.

DNA analyses of C. nucifera from around the World point to the Polynesian origin.

Cocos ancestors split from Syagrus/Lytocaryum almost 35 million years ago. The Andes at the time were not tall enough to obstruct a Pacific exposure. Although many fossils that are presumably related to Cocos or are Cocos sp. have been found, there's never been a discovery of a fossillized coconut-like fruit similar in size of the modern coconut. However the most similar ever (and also the largest at 10 cm in diameter) was found in Queensland, Australia. It's only about 2 million years old. So it's very likely that the ancient Cocos spp. crossed the Pacific to finally evolve on the other side.

[Nigel]

So it's very likely that the ancient Cocos spp. crossed the Pacific to finally evolve on the other side.

Err so it did originate in south america then

I thought Dr Noblick said something about this in his paper on origin of the cocoids, didnt he trace the lineage back to Lytocarium and Attaleas ?

[sarasota alex]

Yes, Dr. Noblick did confirm that Cocos, Syagrus and Lytocaryum had a common ancestor 35 million years ago and that it lived in South America. But he also wrote that both an Atlantic and a Pacific dispersal of the coconut progenitors could possibly be considered. He says that based on the modern distribution of Syagrus/Lytocaryum, the Atlantic dispersal is likely, but he adds that the analysis of the modern coconut varieties support the Pacific scenario.

[amazondk]

Yes, Dr. Noblick did confirm that Cocos, Syagrus and Lytocaryum had a common ancestor 35 million years ago and that it lived in South America. But he also wrote that both an Atlantic and a Pacific dispersal of the coconut progenitors could possibly be considered. He says that based on the modern distribution of Syagrus/Lytocaryum, the Atlantic dispersal is likely, but he adds that the analysis of the modern coconut varieties support the Pacific scenario.

I do not know that this has any direct bearing, but the Andes started to rise about 15 million years ago. Initially a large inland sea / lake was formed over Amazonia. Then about 10 million years ago the water broke through the sandstone and the basin started draining to the Atlantic. At least that is what is thought now. One of the indicators is the sting ray population found in Amazonia which is of Pacific origin. So, the early coconut ancestor could have travelled to Asia easily if it dated back 35 million years.

Here is an article about this - Some history of amazonia

dk

[monkeyranch]

Any theories on how Jubaeopsis with its wacky chromosome count fits into the puzzle?

[sarasota alex]

Any theories on how Jubaeopsis with its wacky chromosome count fits into the puzzle?

That's actually a very interesting fact that further supports the South American origin of the Cocos genus. All American (including Cocos) Attaleinae have 16 chromosomes. Outside of the Americas, Beccariophoenix, the most closely related genus has 18. The most distantly related Attaleinae - Jubaeopsis and Voanioala are polyploids and have a very large chromosome counts - Jubaeopsis - 80-100, Voanioala - 298. With 298 Voanioala gerardii has the highest count of all Monocots.

In addition to the subtribe Attaleinae, there are two more subtribes in the Cocoseae tribe - Bactridinae and Elaeidinae. Bactridinae all have 15 chromosomes and within the Elaeidinae, Elaeis has 16 and Barcella has 15.

[Ken Johnson]

Any theories on how Jubaeopsis with its wacky chromosome count fits into the puzzle?

That's actually a very interesting fact that further supports the South American origin of the Cocos genus. All American (including Cocos) Attaleinae have 16 chromosomes. Outside of the Americas, Beccariophoenix, the most closely related genus has 18. The most distantly related Attaleinae - Jubaeopsis and Voanioala are polyploids and have a very large chromosome counts - Jubaeopsis - 80-100, Voanioala - 298. With 298 Voanioala gerardii has the highest count of all Monocots.

In addition to the subtribe Attaleinae, there are two more subtribes in the Cocoseae tribe - Bactridinae and Elaeidinae. Bactridinae all have 15 chromosomes and within the Elaeidinae, Elaeis has 16 and Barcella has 15.

I am glad to see this thread. I know that the chromosome counts are important clues but most people get a little lost in that. The other thing that is hard to grasp is the time involved. Add in the evolutionary forces and the big picture gets blurry for many.

It may be helpfull to show some time line grafts and a lesson on geography and plate tectonics would help here. Once those ideas become solid it is easy to imagine what happened to palms through time and how it explains where they are now.

Humans use of palms IS a long one no doubt. Early humans were just like MattyB... palm nuts. They ate the fruit and hearts as well as many other uses like attracting gophers and moles.Even 60,000 years ago they had IPS. They traded seeds all over the place and, again like MattyB, they rearranged the ecosystem. After that it was a long time before Watson and Crick discovered the double helix and the origins of life were revealed like never before. Since then we have been able to use DNA to tell us exactly how we are related and to tell how far back we split. Wow is that cool or what? It is no fluke that the DNA that codes for the energy producing molecule ADP is exactly the same in palms as it is in humans. Did you know we were related to palms?

BTW Matty B was only used as a model for this post and no harm was done to him or his ego. (I hope)

[Mandrew968]

This was posted to the NZPalmCycad Yahoo group. I found it very interesting and thought some of you might enjoy it as well.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtomics/2011/08/01/coconuts-not-indigenous-but-quite-at-home-nevertheless/

Jody

Good stuff, Jody!

[paulgila]

ken they also wore animal skins & didnt bathe much. like matt.

[palmazon]

EVERYONE knows coconuts came from Home Depot...

[MattyB]

awwwww Ken...

ken they also wore animal skins & didnt bathe much. like matt.

define "much".

[hanapalms]

awwwww Ken...

ken they also wore animal skins & didnt bathe much. like matt.

define "much".

is that like your dog?

[MASOALA JASON]

Warning: major rant from a palm guy who has not had a day off for a long time and is waiting out a rainstorm and an excuse to catch up on some palm research

In my opinion, the mystery of the origin of the coconut is one of the most fascinating mysteries in the plant world. Meerow et al. (Dr. Noblick was the secondary author) published their phylogenetic analysis of the Cocoseae in 2009 and showed very strong evidence for the Neotropical origin of the genus Cocos. By fusing seven different gene regions there were able to construct a phylogenetic tree with stong statistical support for Cocos nucifera as a sister species to Syagrus with Lytocaryum nested within Syagrus, another indication Lytocaryum will probably end up in Syagrus. They applied their phylogenetic tree to a biogeographic model also and came up with strong support for divergence between Cocos and Syagrus at around 35MYA. With this proposed time of divergence, the authors stated that Cocos could have then dispersed via the Atlantic to other continents from the Neotropics on the “Atlantic stepping stones,” a series of islands present in the Atlantic around the time of divergence. They also state the possibility of Cocos starting its worldwide distribution from the Pacific side of South America, as the Andes had not yet arose; they found that the South Pacific Cocos nucifera variety “Nui Leka” as sister to all other varieties, meaning it could be the ancestral form, but admit that intrabreeding of coconut varieties might make this finding weak.

In 2009, Baudouin and Lebrun published a study that suggested a Philippine origin for all Pacific New World Cocos nucifera varieties. They used 30 microsatellite regions of DNA from about 1200 individuals from different cultivars and found evidence for the relationship between the Panama Tall on the Pacific side of the Americas and coconut populations in the Philippines. From the genetic analysis, they also found significant genetic homogeneity in the Panama Tall cultivars analyzed. This suggests they came from only a few individuals from another region, known as a founder effect. If Cocos nucifera had its origin in the New World, it would be expected to have more representative genetic diversity in the populations growing there. The authors also bring up that the Panama Tall variety is “poorly adapted to long distance dissemination by sea currents” and use this fact to suggest that the Panama Tall could only have been brought to the New World by exchanges between Austronesians and inhabitants of the New World.

The most recent published paper on the origin of the coconut is by Gunn et al. (2011). In this study, they analyzed 10 microsatellite DNA regions for the entire worldwide germplasm collection of representative coconut cultivars along with 112 samples they collected, to fill in some worldwide gaps in collections, from the Seychelles, Comoros, and Madagascar. What they found was fascinating! Their study strongly supports two main cultivar groups: a Pacific Ocean group and an Indian Ocean group. The greatest amount of phenotypic and underlying genetic diversity exist for these two groups in an area between the Malay peninsula to New Guinea for the Pacific group and the “southern periphery of India, including Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Laccadives” for the Indian group. The admixing that they found in areas outside of their proposed centers of origin for the species correlated with known historical sea trade routes and European expansion. The Pacific group is found on the Pacific coast of the New World (some Panama Talls were taken to Mexico via the Spanish and ended up on the Caribbean side) and the Indian group is found in the Caribbean and Atlantic coastlines of the New World (via the Portuguese initially). Gunn et al. agree with Baudoiun and Lebrun that pre-Colombian introduction probably was the result of Austroesian peoples from modern-day Philippines traveling by sea to the New World and bringing coconuts along to trade with peoples of the New World around 2250 years ago.

As far as the other genera in the Cocoseae that are found outside the New World, Beccariophoenix, Voanioala, and Jubaeopsis, Meerow et al. (2009) found that they probably arose in Madagascar from being originally dispersed from the New World via plant species exchanges between a previously closer Africa and New World and with island connections as Beccariophoenix has a chromosome count close to the New World genera and the other two went though polyploidy events subsequently. From the phylogeny by Meerow et al., the subtribe Attaleinae (Attalea, Syagrus, Cocos, Butia, etc.) are proposed to have arisen in eastern Brazil.

My guess is that only when we are able to compare the complete genomes of all these genera will we have the support to say where the true origin of the coconut is. From my perspective though, there was probably more species in the genus Cocos previously that lived in the New World. Some of them dispersed to other places (which if I can remember correctly we have fossil evidence for) and somewhere along evolutionary history Cocos nucifera arose as a littoral species in these regions Gunn et al. showed evidence for. Cocos in the New World never had a species emerge in littoral areas and the rest of the species and their populations radiated into the other Attaleinae or went extinct from environmental change or in competition with other plant species. Who knows, but it is fun to speculate!

[JasonD]

Don't forget about Paschalococos disperta, from Rapa Nui / Easter Island. A cocosoid palm far into the Pacific contributes to the trans-Pacific dispersal hypothesis, though possibly much later than early Cocos species.

[MASOALA JASON]

Don't forget about Paschalococos disperta, from Rapa Nui / Easter Island. A cocosoid palm far into the Pacific contributes to the trans-Pacific dispersal hypothesis, though possibly much later than early Cocos species.

Great point Jason! Another reason why the cocosoids are a great group to study.

[Mr Cycad]

G'day folks.

Thought I add some stuff here this morning, as the debate continues in my part of the world - are coconuts native to Australia?

Article below from the local rag a couple of weeks ago which was brought to my attention via a community development forum... The local Council has been at it again, removing the palms at the so called iconic beach front of the infamous Port Douglas.

Appetite for destruction outrages expert

And a very interesting article by Russell Constable, an avid proponent against a development in his backyard south of Cairns (which I had unfortunately been involved with), and his research in which he puts forth that coconuts are not native to Australia.

Are Coconuts native to Australia?

Enjoy,

Kurt

(from wet and weary far North Queensland - over 1000 mm alone in the last 10 days!)

[philinsydney]

I am reading a biography of Joseph Banks by Grantlee Kieza. 

When the Endeavour  was being repaired in Cooktown after running aground on the reef, Banks "found coconuts that Tupaia told him had been opened by a kind of crab".

Tupaia was a Polynesian priest who accompanied Cook's expedition, so he would have known a lot about coconuts even though he wasn't a local to northern Queensland. 

It is often noted that Cook didn't record seeing coconuts on the Queensland coast, so what are we to make of this? Was it because he had seen so many coconuts on his journey that he didn't think it worth mentioning? Or was he too distracted by other issues? Or were there none before European settlement?