Coco De Mer Official Government Shell of Seychelles

Description

Nut and tree of the Coco de Mer, a rare species of palm tree native to the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean, is subject of various legends and lore.The nut of the coco de mer is very large (the largest seed in the plant kingdom) and is oddly shaped, being the shape and size of a woman's disembodied buttocks on one side, and a woman's belly and thighs on the other side. Not surprisingly, this nut was viewed by people in other parts of the world as a rare and fascinating object with mythological and even magical properties. The nature and origin of this extraordinary nut was mysterious, and the propagation of the tree was not understood. A number of legends arose both about the nuts, and about the trees that produce them.