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Cocos nucifera
These robust trees were anywhere from 20 to 30 feet tall and some had large, unripe coconuts adorning the tops.
This grove of coconut trees is located on Honaunau Bay in the Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park on the Big Island of Hawai'i. The trees are growing in mixed white sand and black lava rock.
One reason that the Hawaiians regard the site as sacred is because it is where those who broke kapu (the law) and made it to the shoreline were offered indemnity.
Spotted on Dec 9, 2018
Submitted on Mar 8, 2020
4 Comments
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Tukup! Meanwhile, I’ve never seen Ecuadorian palm trees... however, I have seen some in Pakistan and in the southern US. There’s significant variation but I always appreciate them. :)
Thanks Sergio. Having only seen the local ones, I naturally, and erroneously, assumed they all looked the same. Once again, Project Noah forcing me to learn 😊
Maybe different varieties, Tukup? I know that in Brazil both forms can be found.
Boy, those look a lot different than the coconut trees we have here in Ecuador but I see we both used the same scientific name. I thought maybe I had erred (it wouldn't bee the first time 😊), but I checked and see Wiki says, "The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only known living species of the genus Cocos." Strange that they are so different. The ones we have are shorter and grow straight thick trunks not the more slender "not-straight" trunks in your picture. Thanks for sharing Mauna.