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Coconuts in the Americas

Cocoteros en las Américas

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Abstract

It has been clearly established that the Portuguese introduced coconuts to the Cape Verde islands in 1499, and these supplied the Atlantic coasts and the Caribbean in the 1500s. By contrast, early 16th century reports of coconuts on the Pacific coast of Panama are controversial. Recent DNA analysis of modern coconut populations there shows them to be similar to Philippine varieties, agreeing with morphometric analysis. Hence, coconuts must have been brought by boat from the western Pacific, but no archaeological, ethnobotanical or linguistic evidence for pre-Columbian coconuts has been found. Thus, the most parsimonious explanation is that coconuts were introduced to Panama after Spanish conquest, as supported by DNA analysis and historical records of Spanish voyages. New collections along the Pacific coast, from Mexico to Colombia, are increasing the sampling for genetic analysis, and further work in the Philippines is suggested to test probable origins. Unless new archaeological discoveries prove otherwise, the strong hypothesis of Philippine origin should direct future research on the sources of American Pacific coast coconuts.

Resumen

Cocoteros en las Américas

Los portugueses introdujeron el cocotero a las islas de Cabo Verde en 1499, y este se distribuyó a las costas del Atlántico y el Caribe. Sin embargo los registros del cocotero en siglo XVI en la costa del Pacífico de Panamá son polémicos. Los análisis recientes de ADN de poblaciones modernas de coco muestran que son similares a las variedades Filipinas, lo que está de acuerdo con los análisis morfo-métricos previos. Por lo tanto, el cocotero debe haber sido llevado en barco desde el Pacífico Occidental, pero no hay evidencias arqueológicas, etnobotánicas o lingüísticas precolombinas. La explicación más parsimoniosa es que fue introducido después de la conquista española. Esto es apoyado por los análisis de ADN y los registros históricos de los viajes españoles con cocos. Nuevas colectas a lo largo de las costas del Pacífico desde México hasta Colombia mejorarán el muestreo para el análisis genético, y se sugieren nuevos trabajos en Filipinas para confirmar los orígenes precisos. A menos de que nuevos restos arqueológicos se encuentren que demuestren lo contrario, esta hipótesis puede orientar nuevas investigaciones sobre los orígenes del cocotero en la Costa del Pacífico americano.

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Acknowledgements

Our special thanks to Luc Baudouin, CIRAD, Montpellier, France, for information about the samples chosen for coconut genetic analysis and for stimulating our reconsideration of pre-Columbian coconuts; to Madhavan Nayar, formerly Director, Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, India, for providing bibliographic material; to Michael G. Price, Michigan Center, Michigan, Kenneth M. Olsen, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, Lalith Perera, Coconut Research Institute, Sri Lanka, for reading the manuscript in draft and making numerous useful suggestions, about the Philippines, the genetic analysis and the presentation; and to Pamela Brown, Pensacola, Florida, for careful review of the language.

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  1. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, 2936, 69067-375, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Charles R. Clement

  2. Unidad de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C., Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico

    Daniel Zizumbo-Villarreal

  3. Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA

    Cecil H. Brown

  4. University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, 32514, USA

    Cecil H. Brown

  5. Research School of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    R. Gerard Ward

  6. Genetics and Plant Breeding Post-graduate Program, Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Alessandro Alves-Pereira

  7. Coconut Time Line, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 5NP, UK

    Hugh C. Harries

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Clement, C.R., Zizumbo-Villarreal, D., Brown, C.H. et al. Coconuts in the Americas. Bot. Rev. 79, 342–370 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-013-9121-z

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