King coconut

Thembili kiosk by a main road in Sri Lanka
Red king coconut, a rare variety/form that has pink-color under epicarp.

King coconut (Cocos nucifera var aurantiaca) is a variety of coconut, native to Sri Lanka, where it is known as Thæmbili (Sinhala තැඹිලි), also found in India and Indonesia.[1] It has less sugar content than other coconuts. There are several sub-varieties of the king coconut, the most common being the "red dwarf" (kaha thæmbili, commonly referred to as gon thæmbili). The other variety is "Ran Thæmbili",[2][unreliable source?] a smaller variety containing about forty nuts in a bunch. The king coconut tree is shorter than coconut trees, and is commonly found growing wild in many areas of the country.[3]

The king coconut water, or liquid endosperm of young King coconut is a nutritious beverage rich in sugars (mainly reducing sugars), minerals (mainly K+), vitamins (mainly B & C) and amino acids.[4] King coconut water has been used in Ayurveda (herbal medicine). One of the most common uses is a mixture of Aralu powder (Myrobalans) added to the water of a king coconut.[5][unreliable source?]

Sri Lanka now exports packaged king coconut water in a variety of brands.

There are many cultivated coconut varieties found in Sri Lanka. Most of them undergo research through the National Coconut Research Institute. The National Coconut Research Institute identified these varieties during a recent coconut germplasm exploration mission in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

Coconut in Sri Lanka is currently classified into 15 different forms grouped under three varieties, 'Typica', 'Nana' and 'Aurantiaca'. The visual morphological features of several new coconut morphotypes were characterized to include them in the taxonomic classification of coconuts in Sri Lanka.[6] It is also found in some parts of Kerala, where it is known as (Chomana Thenga) or red coconut.

  1. ^ "WHAT IS KING COCONUT?". Archived from the original on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  2. ^ "Thambili - Punchi Lindey Vathura Rasai". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
  3. ^ "Coconut varieties". florida gardener. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  4. ^ "CHAPTER 9: Country reports on status of coconut genetic resources research". Coconut Genetic Resources (PDF). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute – Regional Office for Asia, the Pacific and Oceania (IPGRI-APO), Serdang, Selangor DE, Malaysia.: Pons Batugal, V. Ramanatha Rao and Jeffrey Oliver. 2005. p. 587. ISBN 92-9043-629-8.
  5. ^ "King Coconut" (PDF).
  6. ^ Ekanayake, G.K. , Perera, S. A. C. N. , Dassanayake, P. N. , Everard, J. M. D. T. (2010). "Varietal Classification of New Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) Forms Identified" (PDF). Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka. p. 10. Retrieved 19 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)