AN EXCEPTIONAL COCO DE MER NUT, IN TACT AND WITH KERNEL

a very rare 'museum-quality' example of the world's heaviest seed, the Coco de Mer (Lodoicea maldivica),

29 x 15 cm, weighing 5.2 kg.

This specimen is particularly rare and sought after because it is intact and still has its kernel, unlike nearly all other examples in collections, which have been cut in half, the solid flesh of the nut chiselled out, and the shell then glued back together. The kernel is said to be a powerful aphrodisiac and is still used in Asian herbal medicine. An intact specimen allows one to appreciate the incredible weight of this massive seed. Coco de Mer palms are incredibly rare, growing naturally in small nature reserves on just two islands in the Seychelles. Until the Seychelles were discovered in the mid-eighteenth century, it was believed that the seed was the fruit of a gigantic undersea tree. Although fresh seeds sink in water, hollow rotten ones occasionally washed up on Asian islands. They were highly prized for their perceived magical qualities and greatly valued by local rulers. A few reached Europe via trading networks, where they were treasured by nobility, who often polished and decorated them with gold and precious stones. The Seychelles government now prohibits the export of intact nuts, and the kernel (not the nut's shell) was listed in Appendix III of CITES in 2010. This specimen comes with official paperwork from the Seychelles' government showing it was exported in 2003 and is therefore classed as a Pre-Convention specimen.