A coconut is the large, hard-shelled fruit of the coconut palm tree, which grows in tropical regions near oceans. If you've ever seen one at the grocery store, you know that coconuts look almost impossible to open: they have a thick, brown, fibrous husk protecting the white flesh inside and the sweet coconut water at the center.

Coconut palms grow throughout the tropics, from the Caribbean to Southeast Asia to the Pacific Islands. The trees can reach 100 feet tall, and their coconuts take about a year to mature. For thousands of years, people living on tropical islands and coastlines have relied on coconuts as a crucial food source. The white flesh can be eaten fresh, dried into copra, or pressed to make coconut oil and coconut milk. The fibrous husk makes strong rope and mats, while the hard inner shell becomes bowls, cups, and even charcoal. The palm fronds provide roofing material, and the trunk supplies timber. It's hard to think of another plant that provides so many useful products.

When sailors and explorers found coconuts floating in the ocean, they realized these seeds could drift for thousands of miles and still sprout when they washed ashore, which helped coconut palms spread across tropical coastlines worldwide. Today, coconuts appear in countless foods and products, from Thai curry to sunscreen to birthday cakes.