Coconut palm Cocos nucifera is widespread throughout the Northern Marshall
Islands
and must
varied
in height,
ground.
be
considered
but
the
the
ones
dominate
food
selected had
plant.
coconuts
Individual
within
25
ft
trees
of
the
Occasionally we were able to hire local men to climb the trees and
pick coconuts at heights of 45 ft.
A coconut sample consisted of five coconuts
from one or all three stages of coconut used in the diet--drinking nut, copra
nut, and sprouting nut.
Drinking
coconuts
Marshallese.
are
utilized
for
both
eating
The juice is very sweet and the meat
and
soft
drinking
by
the
and palatable.
drinking coconut stage is the most difficult to identify.
The
The outer fiberous
husk is green to yellow in color, the inner husk is saturated with water, while
the seed coat or shell is cream colored and firm.
Inside the shell the meat
(endosperm) is not fully formed and is gelatinous, sweet, and nutritious.
‘The
juice generally fills the seed cavity completely and is often under pressure.
Copra nuts are used for food flavoring in many areas of the Pacific as
well
as
for
oil
that
is
of
commercial
value.
discarded and the meat grated and squeezed.
coconut
cream to be
combined with
other
Customarily
The extract
foods..
The
the
is used
drained
juice
is
to prepare
copra meat
is
usually fed to the livestock, which are later consumed by the people.
The husk
is
dry
ordinarily
shrivel.
yellowish
brown
The woody seed coat
to
is
gray
brown
and
dark brown and
is
beginning
the meat
is
to
fully
and
formed,
white, and firm.
Less than one-half of the seed cavity contains juice and its
flavor is bland.
The eye of the copra nut shows no sign of sprouting and the
cotyledon has not yet begun to grow.
Sprouting coconuts
spongy,
as
food
by
pastry~like cotyledon or embryo
food
that
seed cavity.
are utilized
the
Marshallese
fills
the
eat
the
interior of
the
This embryo food absorbs moisture and nutrients
who
from the seed
cavity (meat and juice) to support the growth of the germinating coconut's leaf
sheath and root.
Sprouting coconuts are characterized by a 1- to 15-in.
leaf
sheath, roots, and a grayish~brown shriveled husk.
Pandanus was the second most common food plant encountered and both wild
and
cultivated
utilized
as
radionuclide
highly prized
varieties
food,
they
were
are
concentrations
throughout
an
in
collected.
Though
important
indicator
plant
species.
Cultivated
the
edible
the Marshall
Islands
for
wild
its
varieties
to
sweet,
are
not
estimate
the
Pandanus
is
spicy-flavored
juice that is extracted from its numerous keys or phalanges, which are sections