Which plant produces the world's largest seed, known as the coco de mer?

The coco de mer palm produces the world's largest seed.

Coco de mer is the common name for Lodoicea maldivica, a palm native to the Seychelles islands of Praslin and Curieuse. Its enormous double-lobed seed can weigh around 25 kilograms and may take several years to mature.

The seed's shape led to old legends that it grew on a mythical underwater tree. Because sailors sometimes found floating fruits far from the Seychelles, the palm was once associated with the sea and given the name coco de mer, meaning “sea coconut.”

Coco de mer is not a coconut and does not grow naturally in the Maldives, despite its scientific name. Strict conservation controls protect the species, whose natural range is limited to a few Seychelles islands.