High diversity of coconut are present in Eastern part of Indonesia, especially at Moluccas and North Moluccas. During my visit to BBP2TP Ambon, I come across with two unique coconut lines. They are: (1) “Kenari” coconut and “Parang” coconut.
The “Kenari” coconut is special since the endosperm of this typical coconut is crunchy like the “Kenari” nut. The fruit of this coconut type is the same size as any typical Dwarf coconut type. The tree also similar to this coconut type. Local people said that they use this coconut type in cookie making and not for coconut oil production.
The “Parang” coconut has unique fruit shape. It shape is similar to the shape of “Parang” which is a traditional type of dagger or knife. The endosperm of this coconut is said to be quite thick and it’s quite similar to “Kenari” coconut (crunchy endosperm).
Here are a few snapshots (slides) of the “Kenari” and “Parang” coconut I found during my travel to BBP2TP Ambon, Moluccas:
Plant Molecular Biology Lab, IPB, Bogor 