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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, the seed of a palm tree. 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, has been protected by the government of the Seychelles because of its rarity – 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.

List

Other recorded largest seeds include:

Seed Image Species Family Size in inches Size in cm Weight Notes
Coco de mer Lodoicea maldivica 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).
Coconut Cocos nucifera Palm family
(Arecaceae or Palmae) 		6 inches 15 cm The Andaman Giant Coconut can have a weight of about 8 lbs (3.6 kg).
Mora or "Mangle Neto" Mora oleifera or Mora megistosperma Senna family
(Caesalpinaceae) 		7 in by 6 in by 3 in 18 cm by 15 cm by 8 cm. 2.2 lbs (1 kg)
East Indies Palmyra Borassus sundaicus Palm family
(Arecaceae or Palmae) 		2.2 lbs (1 kg)
African Palmyra Borassus aethiopum Palm family
(Arecaceae or Palmae) 		Up to 4.29 inches by 3.15 in by 2.24 in. Up to 10.9 cm by 8 cm by 5.7 cm.
Caroline Ivory Palm Metroxylon amicarum Palm family
(Arecaceae or Palmae) 		4.5 inch sphere 11 cm sphere 1 lb. 4 oz (560 grams)
Muli Melocanna baccifera Grass family
(Graminae or Poaceae) 		3.9 inches long and nearly as wide. Ten cm long and nearly as wide. 12.3 oz (350 grams)
Also called "Mora" Mora excelsa Senna family
(Caesalpinaceae) 		5 in by 2.75 in. 12.5 cm by 8 cm. 8.8 oz (250 grams)
Tea Mangrove Pelliciera rhizophorae Tea or Camellia family
(Theaceae) 		4 in sphere. 10 cm sphere. 7 oz (200 grams)
Bornean ironwood, Belian var. "Tanduk" Eusideroxylon zwageri variety exilis Laurel family
(Lauraceae) 		6.3 in by 2 in diam. 160 mm by 5 cm diam.
Pohon Kira-kira Xylocarpus granatum Mahogany family
(Meliaceae) 		Tetrahedral seeds four inches on a side. Tetrahedral seeds 10 cm on a side. Also called "puzzlenut" because the nuts can be reassembled into a sphere.
Chayote Sechium edule Squash family
(Cucurbitaceae) 		4 in by 2.75 in by 1 in. 10 cm by 7 cm by 2.5 cm.
Idiot fruit Idiospermum australiense Spicebush family
(Calycanthaceae) 		3.1 in sphere. 8 cm sphere. 7.9 oz. (225 grams) Very poisonous.
"Capucin". Northia seychellana Sapote Family (Sapotaceae) 3.1 inches, and nearly as wide3. 8 centimeters, and nearly as wide. weight not stated
Avocado Persea americana Laurel family
(Lauraceae) 		3 in 7.6 cm
Chuya Pouteria speciosa Sapote family (Sapotaceae) 3.5 in long by 2.4 in thick. 90 mm long by 60 mm thick.
Boko tree Balanites wilsoniana Balanitaceae 3.46 in by 1.81 in diameter. 8.8 cm by 4.7 cm diameter.
Pacó Grias tessmannii Monkeypot family
(Lecythidaceae) 		3.2 in by 2.5 in. 8 cm by 6.5 cm.
Cativo Prioria copaifera Senna family
(Caesalpinaceae) 		Up to six ounces (170 grams)
California buckeye Aesculus californica Horse chestnut family (Hippocastanaceae) 2.88 in width, 2.63 in breadth and 2.13 in height. 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.
Calatola Calatola costaricensis Metteniusaceae 3 inches long by two inches wide. 7 cm long by 5 cm wide.
Provision tree, Guiana chestnut Pachira aquatica Kapok family (Bombacaceae) Squarish seeds to 2.4 inches on a side. Squarish seeds to 6.1 cm. on a side.
Elephant Creeper. Entada phaseoloides Mimosa family
(Mimosaceae) 		2.8 in by 2.4 in by 1.0 in. 71 mm by 61 mm by 25 mm. 2.1 oz. (60 grams)
Tauari Couratari macrosperma Monkeypot family
(Lecythidaceae) 		3.9 inches by 1.2 inches. 10 cm by 3 cm.
Membrillo Gustavia dodsonii Monkeypot family
(Lecythidaceae) 		2.9 inches by 2,25 inches. 74 mm by 58 mm.
(no common name) Macrozamia macdonnellii Coontie family
(Zamiaceae) 		3.2 inches by 2.2 inches. 8 cm by 5.5 cm. The largest of all Gymnosperm seeds.
Also called Tauari Couratari longipedicellata Monkeypot family (Lecythidaceae) Four inches long by 0.9 inches wide. 9.5 cm long by 2.3 cm wide.
(no common name) Grias multinervia Monkeypot family
(Lecythidaceae) 		3 inches by 1.17 inches. 77 mm by 30 mm.
Fatra Cycas thouarsii Sago palm family
(Cycadaceae) 		2.75 inches by 2.3 inches. 7 cm by 6 cm. Pachytesta incrassata of the Carboniferous deposits was up to 5 in by 2.5 in diam (12 cm by 6 cm diam.) and weighed about seven ounces (200 grams).
Mango Mangifera indica Sumac family
(Anacardiaceae) 		2-4 inches
Peach Prunus persica Rose family
(Rosaceae) 		2 inches 3 cm

See also

References

  1. Quest The World's Largest Seed Archived 2011-06-23 at the Wayback Machine A KQED Multimedia Series Exploring Northern California Science, Environment and Nature.
  2. BGCI plants for the planet Our work Coco de Mer Archived 2019-02-06 at the Wayback Machine 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 2012-04-22.
  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. "Melocanna baccifera Description". GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora. RBG Kew.
  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; Paul Gadek; Ellen Weber; Stuart Worboys (June 2001). "Idiosyncratic phenomenon of regeneration from cotyledonsin the idiot fruit tree, Idiospermum australiense". Austral Ecology. 26 (3): 254. Bibcode:2001AusEc..26..254E. doi:10.1046/j.1442-9993.2001.01110.x. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  24. Wise, Rosemary (1998). A Fragile Eden. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. p. Plate No. 51 with caption.
  25. Polak, A. M. (1992). Major Timber Trees of Guyana - A Field Guide. Wageningen, Netherlands: Tropenbos Foundation. pp. 156–157.
  26. Chapman, Lauren J. (August 1992). "Balanites wilsoniana - Elephant dependent Dispersion?". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 8 (3): 275–283. doi:10.1017/S0266467400006519. S2CID 44759915.
  27. Elbert L. Little and Robert G. Dixon, "Arboles Communes de la Provincia de Esmeraldes" (Rome: UNFAO, 1969) Illust p. 437 plus caption p. 436.
  28. Dalling, J.W. (1997). "Seed Damage Tolerance and Seedling Resprouting...etc". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 13 (1): 481–490. doi:10.1017/S026646740001066X. S2CID 16969638.
  29. Personal observations and measurements made in Riverside, California on November 27, 2015. This is the largest of all temperate (non-tropical) seeds.
  30. Zuchowski, Willow (2007). Tropical Plants of Costa Rica. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Univ. Press. pp. 335 (photo) and 336. ISBN 0-978-8014-1588-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid prefix (help)
  31. Croat, Thomas B. (1978). Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Stanford, California: Stanford Univ. Press. pp. 589–591.
  32. Dr. Jerry Sulivan, "The Godzilla Entada", THE DRIFTING SEED (May 2005 p. 10
  33. Van Roosmalen, Marc (n.d.). ""Illustrated guide to the Fruits and seeds of the Amazonian Flora" p. 26". Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  34. Flora Neotropica Volume 21 Part 1 (Lecythidaceae) (August 1979) p, 160.
  35. Jessop, John (1981). Flora of Central Australia. Sydney: Reed Book Pty. Ltd. p. 14.
  36. Van Roosmalen, Marc. "Illustrated Guide to the Fruits and Seeds of the Amazonian Flora". p. 22. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  37. Prance, Ghillian; Mori, Scott A. (15 August 1979). "Lecythidaceae". Flora Neotropica. 21: 199.
  38. Robert K.F. Pilger, "Cycadaceae", NATURLICHEN PFLANZENFAMILIEN (Leipzig: Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, 1926) 2nd Auflage Band 13 p. 69.
  39. "VIII Tamanos y Formas". Retrieved 2001-12-04.

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