The
coconut tree (
Cocos nucifera) is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family) and the only species of the genus
Cocos. The term
coconut can refer to the whole
coconut palm or the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut. The spelling
cocoanut is an archaic form of the word. The term is derived from the 16th-century Portuguese and Spanish word
coco meaning "head" or "skull", from the three indentations...
(Wikipedia)