English: In the Pacific, coconuts likely were first cultivated on islands in Southeast Asia, meaning the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and perhaps the continent as well. In the Indian Ocean, the likely centre of cultivation was the southern periphery of India, including Sri Lanka.

English: In the Pacific, coconuts likely were first cultivated on islands in Southeast Asia, meaning the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and perhaps the continent as well. In the Indian Ocean, the likely center of cultivation was the southern periphery of India, including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Laccadives.

The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the palm tree family and the only living species of the genus Cocos. [1] The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") [2] can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe, not a nut.

Here is a map I came up with that I posted 6 years ago (wow) in the Palmtalk thread "How far N in Florida can coconut palms reliably grow?". Right off hand, I think it is fairly sound, though I might extend the range all the way around Lake Okeechobee right near the lakefront.

Assam, Bihar, Northern West Bengal, Interior Andrea Pradesh and Maharashtra (Nagpur) and Interior Gujarat all have native coconut tree growth. China has nowhere near the growing region as depicted on this map.