The cocoanut (Cocos nucifera Linn.) is the sole oriental representative
of a tropical genus comprising nineteen species, restricted, with
this single exception, to the New World.
Its geographical distribution is closely confined to the two
Tropics. [2]
Not less than nineteen varieties of C. nucifera are described by
Miquel and Rumphius, and all are accepted by Filipino authors.
Whether all of these varieties are constant enough to deserve
recognition need not be considered here. Many are characterized by
the fruits being distinctly globular, others by fruits of a much
prolonged oval form, still others by having the lower end of the
fruit terminating in a triangular point.
In the Visayas there is a variety in which the fibrous outer husk
of the nut is sweet and watery, instead of dry and astringent, and
is chewed by the natives like sugar cane. Another variety occurs in
Luzon, known as "Pamocol," the fruit of which seldom exceeds 20 cm. in
diameter. There is also a dwarf variety of the palm, which rarely
exceeds 3 meters in height, and is known to the Tagalogs as "Adiavan."
These different varieties are strongly marked, and maintain their
characters when reproduced from seed.