Coconut General Morphology Introduction The Leaf The Root The Stem

Introduction The coconut belongs to the family of palms, Palmae included under the lower group of flowering plants known as the monocotyledons. It occupies a conspicuous position in the vegetable kingdom owing to certain features characteristic of the plams, viz., comparatively slow growth; an unusual thickening at the base of the trunk giving mechanical rigidity; generally unbranched, erect, cylindrical, pillar-like stem, covered with heavy scars of old leaf bases; a compact magnificent crown of gigantic, feathery, glossy, thick-cuticled leaves sheathed at the base providing firm attachment to the stem, orientated at the top of the trunk rendering a natural beauty and elegance; a branched inflorescence enclosed in a sheath collectively known as the spadix; the absence of tap root and the continually growing terminal bud commonly known as the 'cabbage'. Brief botanical description Family: palmae Name: Cocos nucifera L. It is a tall, stately, unarmed palm growing to a height of 12 m to 24 m. The trunk is stout, flexuous, annulate, rarely stands vertically, but makes a gradual curve, rising from swollen base surrounded by a mass of adventitious roots. The stem is marked by rings of leaf-scars which are often not prominent at the base. Leaves are large, long, pinnatisect, borne of the crown; leaflets equidistant, 60cm to 90cm long, narrow, tapering, linear, lanceolate, coriaceous, flaccid; petioles stout, 90 cm to 150 cm long. Top The Leaf Every tree has a crown of leaves oriented at the top of the trunk consisting of opened leaves and those in the bud in various stages of development. The number of leaves in the crown varies depending on the conditions prevailing, viz., method of cultivation, nutritional status of the soil, sunlight, etc. In adult trees, the crown comprises about 30 to 40 opened leaves. There are generally four sets of leaves in the crown. The first set consists of ten to twelve leaves counted from the oldest leaf, from the axils of which the bunches have already been harvested. The majority of these are of very little value to the tree having past their prime. The next set consisting of ten to fourteen leaves will be those supporting fruit bunches in the different stages of development. The third set includes ten to twelve opened leaves in the axils of which are found spadices in various stages of development. The soft and brittle bud in the centre of the crown is the most rapidly growing part of the tree. The bud is rich in phosphates and potash and has a 'nutty' flavour. It is considered a great delicacy. The number of leaves inside the 'cabbage' has to be generally ranging from the same number to one and a half times the number of leaves opened outside. The bud is protected by stipules, which form a sort of fibrous bandage binding the tender leaves. This fibrous sheath persists for some time till the leaves mature and become strong enough to withstand severe winds. The bud produces leaves in succession. The young leaf first appears in the centre of the crown as a pointed arrow and in this stage all the leaflets are held together. The top leaflets open out as the leaf grows and it takes four to five months to completely emerge out of the sheath. The leaf is considered to be fully open when the lowermost of the leaflets has emerged. When the tip of the leaf appears in the centre of the crown it is in line with the stem, i.e., almost perpendicular to the ground. It is then gradually pushed to one side to provide space for the younger set of leaves. As the leaf gets older, it bends down and by the time it dries up and is about to shed, i.e., within about two and a half to three years from the emergence of the leaf. The tip which once faced the sky now points downwards to the ground. The leaves are so arranged on the crown that each leaf gets the maximum amount of light. This is secured by an arrangement of leaves on the crown in five spirals which run in clock-wise or anti-clockwise direction giving rise to right of left spirals respectively. The phyllotaxy of each spiral is nearly two-fifths. Starting from the first leaf and making nearly two complete rounds of the stem the sixth leaf is reached. If the bunches hang towards the right of the petiole, the spiral is towards the left and when the bunches hang towards the left of the petiole, the spiral is towards the right. Even though the direction of the spiral varies in different trees, it remains the same throughout the life of any particular tree. The leaf consists of a rachis popularly known as leaf-stalk (or petiole) and the leaflets. The leaf-stalk continues as a mid-rib or rachis till the tip of the leaf where it merges into the green leaflets. The upper half of the leaf can withstand strains from above as well as from the sides. The leaf stalk attaches the leaf to the stem by means of a sheath in the form of a bracket firmly clasping the stem with its wings nearly round it, providing mechanical strength to it to withstand considerable strain from the wind and the weight of the bunch. The centre of attachment is, however, not so strong, for if the joint at the wings is cut, it is quite easy to tear away the leaf from the stem which is still quite tender where it is protected by the thick butt of the leaf bracket. When young, the stipules from a part of the leaf stalk and surround the whole stem. In young trees these stipules frequently persist unbroken till the leaf dies. The shape of the leaf stalk is of importance and there is a certain natural variation in this. The upper surface is nearly flat or just sufficiently grooved to prevent water from running to its side. The groove down the centre of the mid-rib is of interest as this canalises sufficient water which is allowed to run down into the crown and from there down the stem to the base of the bole. The lower surface is a round keel which thickens out considerably at the base thus forming a supporting bracket. This rounded keel should be deep, as a shallow keeled leaf stalk is unable to support the weight of the green bunch. At the same time the leaf stalk should be wide so as to lesson the chances of the bunch from slipping off the support. The leaf stalk should also be short, as a short leaf stalk denotes a short bunch. If the stalk of the bunch is short, the bunch will be nearer to the stem and this brings about less strain on the leaf bracket. The number of leaflets on a leaf varies from 200 to 250. Where the number is small the leaflets are usually narrow and are farther apart, which is an undesirable character. The leaflets near the base of the leaf as well as those near the apex are much shorter and narrower than those situated in the middle. The longest leaflets are in the lower one-third of the leaflet-bearing region. It is thus clear that there is great variation in the area of the leaf surface in different trees. The attachment of leaflets at different parts of the leaf varies greatly, but in all cases it is so arranged that it throws water off the mid-rib down the leaflets so that it drips down at the ends. In the case of young leaves, these are more or less vertical and in this case any water falling on them runs down into the crown. The leaflet consists of a central strong mid-rib with a blade on each side. The blade is tough and leathery with green shining upper surface. The leaflets partially close longitudinally in the shade, cloudy weather or at night, while in full sunlight they remain open. Top The Root The coconut palm has an adventitious root system as typical of a monocot, i.e., it produces numerous uniformly thick roots from the base of the stem almost throughout its life. The roots radiate from all the sides and are generally disposed to keep the direction in which they start. These are the main roots. The total number of such roots in a tree depends upon its age and the environment. On the poor sandy soils of the Malabar Coast (India), they may vary from 1,500 to 2,500 in a tree aged about 25 years and 3,620 roots in a 60 to 70-years-old tree. The number of roots counted on a bole usually varies from 4,000 to 7,000. Although numbers much higher than these are rare, it is interesting to note that as many as 11,360 roots have been counted on a bole of a very old tree at the Central Coconut Research Station, Kayangulam (loose sandy soil). The main roots measure 6 m in length on an average and in rare instances they may grow even up to 25 m. they are usually of uniform thickness of about 8 mm in diameter. Under certain environments (when mechanically or otherwise injured) they produce one or more branches which are almost as thick as the original roots. The main roots and the branch-roots are generally long-lived, while the rootlets, particularly the territories and their branches, are short-lived. However, the latter are replaced often during favorable conditions. Coconut roots are also provided with numerous lenticel-like outgrowths or ventilators which may be called 'breathing organs', 'breathing roots' or 'pneumatophores', which help in the exchange of gases. These white, pointed breathing roots are seen mostly on the main roots and sparsely on the rootlets. Normally, roots are not formed very much above the bole region even when buried in the ground. But, when the tree is old or when raised on water-logged areas, the roots commence to die from the apex upwards. When this stage is reached, the tree, in order to maintain itself, commences to form new roots above the normal root-producing zone at the base of the stem. These are termed aerial roots. Top The Stem When the bole reaches the full stage of its development, the stem becomes visible. The thickness of the stem generally depends upon the vigor of the tree, hereditary variation and soil conditions. In the initial years of the growth of the tree the stem gradually increases in thickness and this thickness is maintained throughout. Growth of the stem may however, become thinner as the tree gets older are meets with unfavorable conditions. The unevenness thus produced, though slight, persists and this is a visual record of the vicissitudes through which the palm has passed. The stem of the coconut grows erect under normal conditions. But trees on the margins of the plantations often lean away towards light. In places where winds often prevail, the trees will lean along the directions of the wind. Any injury caused to the stem remains as the tissues of the stem have no capacity to repair the injury because of the absence of meristematic activity. It can however withstand considerable amount of damage due to the presence of fibrous tissue in the trunk. These strands are generally much closer together towards the middle of the tree enabling it to withstand considerable lateral strain particularly in times of severe winds and gales. The coconut tree has only one growing point, the bud. If this bud is killed, the tree dies. The bud produces a succession of leaves. When the leaves grow old they are shed , leaving a rough pitted scar on the trunk which encircles the whole stem. From the counts of these scars the age of the trees can be approximately determined, as roughly 12 to 14 such successive scars left on the tree correspond to a year of growth of the tree. It is also possible to gauge the vigour of the tree from these scars. In a bearing tree the scars left by the inflorescence stalk may be seen on the stem in the middle above the widest portion of the leaf scar. The interspace between successive leaf scars may serve as an index of the bearing capacity of the tree or the environment under which it is grown. Top

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