Coconut palm

The coconut palm grows on the shores of almost every Indonesian island – providing coconut milk, oil, palm sugar and leaves for weaving.

The coconut palm is a slender palm growing to 25–30 m, with a slightly curved, ringed trunk and a plume of pinnate leaves up to 6 m long. Its fruit is a drupe with a thick, fibrous husk that can drift at sea for weeks and sprout on distant shores. The flesh yields coconut milk and oil, the fibres are made into ropes and mats, and the sap of tapped inflorescences becomes palm sugar and wine. The palm fruits all year round and can live for several decades.

Significance in the country

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest coconut producers. Coconut milk (santan) is the base of many Indonesian dishes, such as rendang and opor ayam, and young palm leaves are woven into ketupat pouches in which rice is cooked for the Lebaran holiday.

Where it grows

Grown in the lowlands and on the coasts of the whole archipelago – from Sumatra and Java to Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua; there are especially many plantations in Riau province and North Sulawesi.

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