All plant species
2 species
NECoconut palm
Cocos nucifera L.
Arecaceae family
The coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is a large tropical palm, the only living species of the genus Cocos (family Arecaceae), with a trunk up to 30 m and a drupe fruit that yields water, kernel, shell and fibre. According to Kew POWO its wild native range is Central Malesia to the SW Pacific; Austronesian peoples domesticated and spread it across the coastal tropics worldwide. Coconut oil is rich in medium-chain saturated fatty acids — lauric acid (C12:0) makes up about 45–50% — together with the MCTs caprylic (C8:0) and capric (C10:0) acids, while coconut water is rich in potassium and sugars. Almost every part is useful: water to drink, kernel as food, copra pressed for oil, coir for mats and brushes, shell for activated charcoal, leaves for wrapping and thatch.
NECotton
Gossypium hirsutum L.
Malvaceae family
Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a crop of the family Malvaceae and the source of the world’s single most important textile fibre. Native to Mexico and Central America and domesticated long ago, it is now the most widely grown cotton species, accounting for most global production. The fibre is almost pure cellulose; the seeds yield edible oil after refining but contain gossypol, a toxic compound once studied as a male contraceptive.