Coco De Mer
Latin: Lodoicea maldivica
Description: Exceptional Coco De Mer nut, large specimen. Highly polished, and with hair.
The very rare double coconut or "Coco De Mer" is the largest seed in the plant kingdom and a true botanical curiosity. One of it's archaic botanical names was Lodoicea callipyge and loosely translated means "beautiful rump". In the Maldives, any Coco de Mer nuts that were found in the ocean or on the beaches were supposed to be given to the king, and keeping a nut for yourself or selling it could have resulted in the death penalty. However, Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor was able to purchase one of these nuts for 4,000 gold florins. The Dutch Admiral Wolfert Hermanssen also received a nut as a gift for his services, from the Sultan of Bantam in 1602, for fighting the Portuguese and protecting the capital of Bantam. However, the nut that the admiral was given was missing the top part; apparently the Sultan had ordered the top of the nut to be cut off, in order not to upset the noble admirals modesty.