The Coconut

Chapter 1. The Coconut in the World

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Contributions of Coconuts to the Food Economy

Chapter 2. Early History, Lore, and Economic Botany

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Ethnobotany of Palms
• 3. Pacific Ocean Islands
• 4. Economic Botany of the Coconut
• 5. Indian Ocean
• 6. Atlantic Ocean

Chapter 3. Taxonomy and Intraspecific Classification

• 1. History of Coconut Taxonomy
• 2. Classification of Tribe Cocoseae
• 3. Character Primitiveness and Progression in the Palm Family
• 4. Intraspecific Variation in the Coconut

Chapter 4. Paleobotany and Archeobotany

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Fossils From New Zealand
• 3. Fossils From India
• 4. Fossils From Other Regions
• 5. Paleopalynology
• 6. Archeobotany

Chapter 5. Phylogeny

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Moore’s Classification
• 3. Phylogeny of the Cocosoid/Cocoseae Palms
• 4. Commentary

Chapter 6. Biogeography

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Age and Lineage Differentiation of Palms
• 3. Experimental Studies

Chapter 7. Origins: Past Observations

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Review of Literature
• 3. Origin of the Pacific Ocean
• 4. Atoll Origins and Ecology
• 5. Peopling Polynesia Vis-à-vis the Food Production System
• 6. Natural Dissemination of the Coconut
• 7. New Guinea as an Independent Center of Agricultural Origins

Chapter 8. Origins

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Place of Origin
• 3. The Ancestral Species
• 4. Time of Origin
• 5. Mode of Evolution of the Coconut

Chapter 9. Spread

• 1. Introduction
• 2. For and Against Natural Dispersals
• 3. From the Old World to the New World
• 4. Coconuts on the Pacific Coast of America
• 5. Spread of the Coconut in South America

Chapter 10. Afterword: Does the Coconut Have a Future?

• 1. Introduction
• 2. R&D Efforts for Transforming the Coconut Ideotype to Face the Newer Challenges of the 21st Century