Horned coconut - With two horns

En fait, les diverses photographies de noix de cocotiers dits "à corne" que nous avons pu trouver montrent des morphologies très diverses. Il n'existe donc pas un seul type de cocotier à corne, mais plusieurs types qui se distinguent par des cornes plus ou moins longues, plus ou moins épaisses et plus ou moins courbées.

India

An anecdote from the Seventh Kailasam temple – Thenthiruperai, in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. During the British Era, once Captain Durai, who ruled over this district, rested here during his journey. As he was thirsty, he asked for tender coconut that was hanging on a tree nearby. The townsfolk replied that the coconuts on that grove weren’t intended for humans but for the omnipresent God and warned him from plucking them.




So the captain arrogantly replied, “Does the coconut in the temple grove sprout horns?” and ordered his assistant to fetch those coconuts from the tree. The assistant on his command fetched the coconuts from the tree. Miraculously the tender coconut had three horns. The English Commander, realised his folly, fell to his knees and sought the Lord’s forgiveness.

Also he ordered the Government to pay 26 Salli Paisas daily to perform rituals and poojas at the temple. Even now our government is paying this amount for the temple. Visitors to the temple can view the three horned coconut, that hangs in front of the Amman Sanctum.

Sri Lanka

Il semble que la première description scientifique de cocotiers dit "à corne" date de 1924 et a été réalisée au Sri Lanka (Petch, 1924). Nous n'avons pas pu obtenir cet article pour l'instant.

French Polynesia







Cocotier à corne de l'atoll de Tetiaroa
References

Petch, T. (1924) A horned coconut. Yearbook DoA, Ceylon pp 20-21.
Areca and Cocos in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indian J. For., 1979, 2, 350–363

Davis, T. S. (1965). Addition to the theories on the morphology of horns in coconut fruits.

Jerard, B. A., Niral, V., Dhanapal, R., Damodaran, V., Arunachalam, V., Rajesh, M. K., ... & Thomas, G. V. (2014). IND 221–Andaman Horned Cocos (IC0598221; INGR13063), a Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Germplasm with Distinct Character of Horny Nuts. Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources, 27(1), 76-77.