List of largest seeds

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Lodoicea maldivica, native to the Seychelles Archipelago, found in the Indian ocean

The largest seed in the world is the coco de mer,[1][2] the seed of a palm tree.[3] It can reach about 30 centimetres (12 inches) long, and weigh up to 18 kilograms (40 pounds). The coco de mer, which produces a giant, dark brown seed,[4] has been protected by the government of the Seychelles because of its rarity[5] – the tree can grow up to 31 m (102 ft) tall, with leaves measuring 6 m (20 ft) long and 3.6 m (12 ft) wide. Kigelia or "sausage seed" (botanical name Kigelia africana) can produce pods weighing up to 12 kg (26 lb), and 12–20 cm (4+1⁄2–8 in) long, but the pod contains seeds.

The list[]

Other recorded largest seeds include:[6]

Seed Image Species Family Length in inches Length in cm Weight
Coco de mer Female nut Coco de Mer and sea foam.jpg Lodoicea maldivica The Palm Family. (Arecaceae or Palmae) 12 in 30 cm 18 kg (40 lbs). The single largest Lodoicea seed found to date was one weighing 25 kg (55 lbs) reported by Stephen Blackmore et al.[7]
Coconut Coconut.png Cocos nucifera The Palm Family. (Arecaceae or Palmae.) 6 inches 15 cm The Andaman Giant Coconut (C. n. gigantea) of the Andaman Islands can have a volume of up to 427 cubic in (7,000 cubic cm), corresponding by extrapolation to a nut ten inches (25 centimeters) long by nine inches (23 centimeters) in diameter, and a weight of about 8 lbs (3.6 kg).[8] It is unclear whether the "Andaman Giant" is a wild or a cultivated variety.
Mora[9] or M. megistosperma The Senna Family. (Caesalpinaceae) 7 in by 6 in by 3 in 18 cm by 15 cm by 8 cm. 2.2 lbs. (1000 grams)[10]
East Indies Palmyra Borassus sundaicus The Palm Family (Arecaceae or Palmae). 2.2 lbs (1 kg)[11]
African Palmyra Borassus aethiopum The Palm Family (Arecaceae or Palmae). Up to 4.29 inches long by 3.15 in wide by 2.24 in broad. Up to 10.9 cm long by 8 cm wide by 5.7 cm broad.[12]
Caroline Ivory Palm Metroxylon amicarum The Palm Family. (Arecaceae or Palmae) Circa 4.5 inch diam (round) Circa 11 cm 1 lb. 4 oz (560 grams).[13]
Muli Melocanna baccifera The Grass Family (Graminae or Poaceae). 3.9 inches long [14] and nearly as wide. Ten cm long and nearly as wide. 12.33 oz (350 grams)[15]
Also called "Mora" Mora excelsa The Senna Family (Caesalpinaceae) 5 in long by 2.75 in wide. 12.5 cm long by 8  wide.[16] 8.8 oz (250 grams).[17]


Tea Mangrove. [18] Pelliciera rhizophorae The Tea, or Camellia Family. (Theaceae) 4 in diam. (round). 10 cm diam. 7 oz (200 grams).
Bornean Ironwood, or Belian var. "Tanduk" Eusideroxylon zwageri variety exilis The Laurel Family. (Lauraceae) 6.3 in long by 2 in diam. 160 mm long by 5 cm diam.[19]
Pohon Kira-kira Xylocarpus granatum The Mahogany Family. (Meliaceae). Tetrahedral seeds four inches on a side. Tetrahedral seeds 10 cm on a side. [20] Also called "puzzlenut" because the nuts can be reassembled into a sphere.
Chayote Sechium edule The Squash Family (Cucurbitaceae) 4 in long by 2.75 in wide by one in thick 10 cm long by 7 cm wide by 2.5 cm thick [21]
Idiot Fruit Idiospermum australiense The Spicebush Family. (Calycanthaceae) 3.1 in (round) 8 cm[22] 7.9 oz. (225 grams)[23] Very poisonous.
Avocado Avocado.jpeg Persea americana The Laurel Family. (Lauraceae) 3 in 7.6 cm The varieties "Anaheim", "Nabal" and "Nimlioh" are most likely to have seeds of this size.
The Boko Tree Balanites wilsoniana Balanitaceae 3.46 in long by1.81 in diameter. 8.8 cm long by 4.7 cm diameter. [24]
Pacó Grias tessmannii Monkeypot Family (Lecythidaceae) 3.2 in long by 2.5 in wide.[25] 8 cm long by 6.5 cm wide.
Cativo Prioria copaifera Senna Family Caesalpinaceae Up to six ounces (171.6 grams)[26]
California Buckeye California Buckeye Seed.jpg Aesculus californica The Horse Chestnut Family. (Hippocastanaceae) 2.88 in width, 2.63 in breadth and 2.13 in height.[27] 7.32 cm width, 6.68 cm breadth and 5.41 cm height 5 oz (140 grams) This is the largest of all temperate (non-tropical) seeds. Poisonous.
Provision Tree, or Guiana Chestnut. Pachira aquatica Kapok Family Bombcaceae Squarish seeds to 2.4 inches on a side. Squarish seeds to 6.1 cm. on a side.[28]
Elephant Creeper. Entada phaseoloides The Mimosa Family (Mimosaceae) 2.8 in by 2.4 in by 1.0 in. 71 mm by 61 mm by 25 mm. [29] 60 grams (2.1 oz.)
Tauari (Couratari macrosperma) The Monkeypot Family (Lecythidaceae) 3.9 inches long by 1.2 inches wide. [30] 10 cm long by 3 cm wide.
Fatra Cycas thouarsii Cycadaceae 2.75 inches long by 2.3 inches wide and broad. 7 cm long by 6 cm wide and broad. [31] The largest of all living gymnosperm seeds. but Pachytesta incrassata of the Carboniferous deposits was up to 5 in long by 2.5 in diam (12 cm by 6 cm diam.) and weighed about seven ounces (200 grams). [32]
Mango Mangifera indica The Sumac Family. (Anacardiaceae) 2-4 inches
Peach Nectarine.jpg Prunus persica The Rose Family. (Rosaceae) 2 inches 3 cm

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Quest The World's Largest Seed A KQED Multimedia Series Exploring Northern California Science, Environment and Nature.
  2. ^ BGCI plants for the planet Our work Coco de Mer Investigate Coco de Mer on the BGCI Plant Search Database
  3. ^ Fruit trivia Coco de mer - Q
  4. ^ Britannica E. Coco de mer Double coconut
  5. ^ "Coco de Mer (Management) Decree | Seychelles Legal Information Institute". www.seylii.org. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  6. ^ Jenifer Corr Morse (1 November 2011). Scholastic Book of World Records 2012. Scholastic Inc. pp. 202–. ISBN 978-0-545-33149-4. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  7. ^ Blackmore, Stephen; Chin, See-Chung; Chong Seng, Lindsay; Christie, Frieda; Inches, Fiona; Winda Utami, Putri; Watherston, Neil; Wortley, Alexandra H. (2012). "Observations on the Morphology, Pollination and Cultivation of Coco de Mer (Lodoicea maldivica (J F Gmel.) Pers., Palmae)". Journal of Botany. 2012: 1–13. doi:10.1155/2012/687832.
  8. ^ K.P.V. Menon and K.M. Pandala, "The Coconut Palm - A Monograph" (Ernakulam, Kerala, India: The Indian Central Coconut Committee, 1958) pp. 96 & 98.
  9. ^ Elbert L. Little and Robert G. Dixon, "Arboles Communes de la Provincia de Esmereldas" (Rome: UNFAO, 1969) p. 222
  10. ^ Daniel H. Janzen, "Costa Rican Natural History", (Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press, 1983) p. 281.
  11. ^ Chris Gray, "The Townsville Palmetum", THE PALM JOURNAL # 175 (March 2004)p. 30.
  12. ^ "Borassus aethiopum Mart., Hist. Nat. Palm. 3: 221 (1838) | PALMweb".
  13. ^ James C. McCurrach, "Palms of the World" (Stuart, Fla.: Horticultural Books, Inc., 1980 reprint - orig 1960) p. 139.
  14. ^ "RBG Kew: GrassBase - Melocanna baccifera Description".
  15. ^ Daniel H. Janzen, "Why do Bamboos Wait so Long to Flower?", ANN. REV. ECOL. SYST. Vol 7 (1974) p. 9.
  16. ^ Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information # 8 (November 1, 1932) p. 397
  17. ^ Victor C. Quesner and T. Francis Farrell, "Native Trees of Trinidad and Tobago" (Port of Spain: T & T Field Naturalists Club, 2000) p. 86.
  18. ^ "Mangrove // Mangrove.at".
  19. ^ Yukitoshi Kimoto et al, "Embryology of Eusideroxylon...etc", BOTANICAL JOURNAL of the LINNEAN SOCIETY Vol. 150 # 2 (February 2006) p. 190.
  20. ^ Margaret Percival and John S. Womersley, "Floristics and Ecology of Mangrove Vegetation in Papua New Guinea", BOTANICAL BULLETIN # 8 (Lae: Dept. of Forests, 1975) p. 90.
  21. ^ Fayaz, Ahmed. Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants. Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly Books. p. 451.
  22. ^ Franks, P. J. and P. L. Drake (2003). "Desiccation-induced loss of seed viability is associated with a 10-fold increase in CO(2) evolution in seeds of the rare tropical rainforest tree Idiospermum australiense." New Phytologist 159(1): 253-261.
  23. ^ Will Edwards et al, "Idiosyncratic phenomenon of regeneration...etc", AUSTRAL ECOLOGY Vol. 26 # 3 (June 2001) p. 254.
  24. ^ Chapman, Lauren J. (August 1992). "Balanites wilsoniana - Elephant dependent Dispersion?". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 8 (3): 275–283. doi:10.1017/S0266467400006519.
  25. ^ Elbert L. Little and Robert G. Dixon, "Arboles Communes de la Provincia de Esmeraldes" (Rome: UNFAO, 1969) Illust p. 437 plus caption p. 436.
  26. ^ Dalling, J.W. (1997). "Seed Damage Tolerance and Seedling Resprouting...etc". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 13 (1): 481–490. doi:10.1017/S026646740001066X.
  27. ^ Personal observations and measurements made in Riverside, California on November 27, 2015. This is the largest of all temperate (non-tropical) seeds.
  28. ^ Croat, Thomas B. (1978). Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Stanford, California: Stanford Univ. Press. pp. 589–591.
  29. ^ Dr. Jerry Sulivan, "The Godzilla Entada", THE DRIFTING SEED (May 2005 p. 10
  30. ^ Van Roosmalen, Marc (n.d.). ""Illustrated guide to the Fruits and seeds of the Amazonian Flora" p. 26". Retrieved April 4, 2007.
  31. ^ Robert K.F. Pilger, "Cycadaceae", NATURLICHEN PFLANZENFAMILIEN (Leipzig: Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, 1926) 2nd Auflage Band 13 p. 69.
  32. ^ "VIII Tamanos y Formas". Retrieved December 4, 2001.[dead link]

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