You may be wondering why I’ve dedicated an entire post to explaining the Seychelles “Butt Nut” (AKA the Coco de Mer) but I really couldn’t help it. I’m absolutely fascinated with these giant coconuts that only grow in the Seychelles and look like human genitalia! I even bought one for $360!
Before you go thinking I’m a plant pervert, hear me out. In all of the 100+ countries I’ve been to, I have never seen something so bizarre and mind provoking! Just look at the photo! The nut literally looks like a human female’s booty on one side, and vajayjay on the other!
By the way, the real name of the tree is “Coco de Mer” which means “Coco of the Ocean”. I just couldn’t help but to call the seed a “Butt nut” and it stuck, but that’s not the official name. Yet.
It gets more interesting when you see the male Coco de Mer trees. They don’t have giant nuts (pun intended) but they do have parts that look very similar to a penis. Well…maybe a diseased penis, but you get my point.
Anyway, mind-boggling looks aside, there’s a ton of other fascinating facts about the Coco de Mer trees! Here’s some of my favorites:
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Coco de Mer Butt Nuts are the Largest Seeds on Earth
That’s right. Deez nuts are massive! It makes sense if you see the size of the palm fronds, but not really for the height of the tree.
The Butt Nut can reach about a foot long and weigh up to 40 pounds! You definitely don’t want to be standing under one when it falls! And if you are, you better hope you got travel insurance before the trip!
In case you’re wondering how I got a 40 pound nut home, it doesn’t weigh that much when they’re sold. By law, you must remove the insides of the Butt Nut before selling them, so what I have is basically just the shell of one!
Coco de Mer Trees Only Grow on 2 Islands in the World
One of the main reasons I wanted to buy a Coco de Mer Butt Nut is because of how rare they are. They only grow on two islands in the World: Praslin and Curieuse, both located in the Seychelles.
If you want to go see an ancient forest of Coco de Mers, check out Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve on Praslin. There they are naturally preserved, and they have really knowledgeable guides to give you even more fun facts than I am.
They’re Referred to as the “Garden of Eden”
It only makes sense that people would refer to the one place on Earth where there’s plants with human looking genitalia as the “Garden of Eden”. I even stopped to wonder for a second if that’s possibly where the story could have sprouted from. Get it? Sprouted?
Coco de Mer Butt Nuts Were Once Thought to Have Come from an Underwater Tree
Before the Seychelles was discovered, the massive Butt Nuts would drift into the ocean when they fell. Some would wash up in places like the Maldives, and the people who found them came up with this unlikely story that they came from palm trees under the water.
They thought of them as prized treasures, and would polish and even decorate them with jewels! Kind of makes me feel like I’m slacking since mine is just on a stand in my living room.
Coco de Mer Trees are the Only Trees with Separate Male and Female Parts
Did you know that trees and most plants usually have both male and female parts? I only know that because I was a biology major, and because my guide pointed out that the Coco de Mer trees have one or the other part.
That’s yet another reason why they’re so interesting, and may make your mind wander back to the whole Garden of Eden thing!
You Can Only Eat a Butt Nut if a Local with an Approved Tree Offers it to You
When I first posted about my Coco de Mer Butt Nut on Instagram, a ton of people’s first question was “Can you eat it?”. Well, considering they are ancient, rare, and protected, the obvious answer should be NO.
But I can see how you’d correlate eating a regular coconut to eating a giant one. So the actual answer is yes, technically you can eat the meat of a Butt Nut. BUT! Only if a local offers it to you from a tree that is legally growing on their property.
You CANNOT buy, sell, or exchange anything for the edible part of a Butt Nut! No one offered me any Butt Nut innards unfortunately, but I was told it’s like a jelly. Yum.
All the Butt Nuts are Tracked and Regulated by the Government
When I heard how expensive buying a Coco de Mer Butt Nut was, my first question was “What if one falls on me, can I keep it then?”
The answer was a straight up “No.”, and that’s because every Butt Nut in the Seychelles is tracked and regulated by the government. They know exactly how many nuts are in every single tree, when they’re supposed to fall, and who gets them to sell or which ones are allowed to grow into new trees.
You MUST Have an Official Seal and Certificate to Have a Butt Nut or You Go to Jail
In order to prevent people from stealing the valuable Butt Nut’s, the government also makes it a rule that each one must have an official seal on it and a certificate. If you’re caught with a Butt Nut and you don’t have the certificate for it, you can go to jail!
Where to Buy Coco de Mer Butt Nuts and How Much They Should Cost
Several gift shops, including the ones at hotels sell the Coco de Mer Butt Nuts. You can also get them at the Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve which is where I bought mine.
Prices vary, but I was told that the average price is around $400, so I actually got mine for less than I was expecting to pay. Hotel gift shops and gift shops in Mahe will probably jack up the prices. Local gift shops in Praslin though will probably lower them.
I was also told that they lower prices in low season! Check out my full Extreme Seychelles Travel Guide to see when high and low season is!
How to Get a Coco de Mer Butt Nut Back Home
Another question a lot of people asked was how I got my Butt Nut back home to the US. As I mentioned above, it’s not heavy when they sell them, but it is bulky and fragile. Putting it in my luggage wasn’t an option for me both because I didn’t have space and because I was told you HAVE to carry it in the bag you get when you buy it.
You also need to show customs your certificate at the airport, so be sure to have it handy! Random fact: the women who checked my Butt Nut at the Seychelles airport acted like I was an idiot tourist for buying it, and treated it like a piece of trash!
I also got questioned in Dubai on my layover by one guard who seemed to think maybe there was something inside of it. Luckily another guard came over and knew what it was and told him to let me go.
Planning a trip to the Seychelles? Check out my obnoxiously detailed travel guide below!
Please CLICK HERE to see my Amazon list of everything I used and would highly recommend bringing! Also includes which cameras I used for the images above!
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