<P> Roots are usually less than about 3 inches in diameter and uniformly thick from the tree trunk to the root tip . </P> <P> The palm produces both the female and male flowers on the same inflorescence; thus, the palm is monoecious . Other sources use the term polygamomonoecious . The female flower is much larger than the male flower . Flowering occurs continuously . Coconut palms are believed to be largely cross-pollinated, although some dwarf varieties are self - pollinating . </P> <P> One of the earliest mentions of the coconut dates back to the "One Thousand and One Nights" story of Sinbad the Sailor; he is known to have bought and sold coconut during his fifth voyage . Thenga, its Malayalam and Tamil name, was used in the detailed description of coconut found in Itinerario by Ludovico di Varthema published in 1510 and also in the later Hortus Indicus Malabaricus . Even earlier, it was called nux indica, a name used by Marco Polo in 1280 while in Sumatra, taken from the Arabs who called it جوز هندي jawz hindī . Both names translate to "Indian nut". In the earliest description of the coconut palm known, given by Cosmos of Alexandria in his Topographia Christiana written about 545 AD, there is a reference to the argell tree and its drupe . </P> <P> In March 1521, an extremely detailed description of the coconut was given by Antonio Pigafetta writing in Italian and using the words "cocho" / "cochi", as recorded in his journal after the first European crossing of the Pacific Ocean during the Magellan circumnavigation and meeting the inhabitants of what would become known as Guam and the Philippines . He explained how at Guam "they eat coconuts" ("mangiano cochi") and that the natives there also "anoint the body and the hair with cocoanut and beneseed oil" ("ongieno eL corpo et li capili co oleo de cocho et de giongioli"). The journal then details how on the following week, Magellan's expedition landed at Suluan east of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines . There they were given gifts by the natives which included two coconuts ("dui cochi"), with indication that more coconuts would be brought later ("cochi et molta altra victuuaglia"). Pigafetta then goes into great detail on how coconut is used and processed by the Filipino natives: </P>

The first stories about the coconut palm come from
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