Fond Ferdinand coco de mer could be largest ever |27 June 2005

The coco de mer, still inside its husk, was brought to the Ministry of Environment headquarters at the Botanical Gardens on Tuesday, so officials could begin the process of official weighing and measurement for possible entry into the Guinness World Records.

Director general for nature conservation Didier Dogley told Nation on Friday that the coco de mer would be weighed and measured with its husk intact, after which the individual nut inside would be weighed.
While the 42-kg in-husk measurement is likely to garner accolades for the world’s heaviest fruit, the title for largest and heaviest nut may not be a guarantee. There is the possibility that there could be multiple nuts inside the husk – twins or even triplets, perhaps – Mr Dogley said.

Erickson Adrienne, security officer with the Praslin Development Fund (PDF), which is responsible for the Fond Ferdinand area, said he and fellow officers had actually been monitoring the coco de mer for about five years.

Space was carved out below the tree so that the large nut wouldn’t roll far from where it fell, and the officers made sure the conditions around it where conducive to the coco de mer’s further growth.

Last weekend, after a colleague saw that it had fallen, he and Mr Adrienne lugged the heavy husk back to the PDF, after which it was flown to Mahe.

After all the procedures for the record books are completed, the coco de mer may be re-planted to see if another generation of super-large fruits could follow.