Coconut Tree vs. Palm Tree: What's the Difference?

Most palm tree are not coconut trees. Cocos nucifera, is the only species in the genus Cocos. It's a part of the family Aracaceae, composed of 2600 plants, which includes all palm trees. Cultivars of Cocos nucifera are the only palm trees to produce the distinctive coconut. In short, a coconut tree is a type of palm tree.

Learn about the key differences between coconut trees and palm trees below.

Mature Size

There are two types of coconut tree cultivars: full size and dwarf. Mature, full size trees grow to 100 feet tall with single, slender trunks topped by a 20- to 30-foot-wide canopy. Fronds up to 18 feet in length appear at the crown with fruits clustered below or between the fronds. Dwarf coconut trees reach mature heights of 16 to 30 feet and spread 15 to 25 feet, with most cultivars averaging on the smaller end of the scale. Fronds grow up to 3 feet long.

Palm trees range in size from the 6-foot-tall houseplant to the 200-foot-tall wax palm. They can take on many different shapes, from multi-stemmed shrub-like plants to trees with singular trunks and a canopy of fronds similar to the coconut tree. Trunks also have different shapes, such as the bottle palm, as they mature. Other genus and species of palm trees produce fruits other than coconuts, including dates, acacia berries, oil and jelly fruits, and more.

Growth Habit

All tall palms with singular trunks display leaf scars as they mature. As the tree increases in height, old leaves mature and fall or are removed. Remaining scars can be insignificant, leaving the trunk almost smooth, or noticeable with a peeling, shaggy or chipped appearance.

Coconut palm trees have smooth leaf scars, whereas the california fan palm, for example, retains a shaggy skirt of spent leaves that remain on the trunk.

How a Coconut Palm Tree Grows

Coconut palm trees grow at a moderate rate of 1 to 2 feet per year, adding a gentle curve above the slightly thickened base of the trunk as they mature. The crown features 25 to 30 large fronds up to 18 feet long and 6 feet wide, each with 200 leaflets that are 2 feet long. One new frond is produced each month as the oldest one is shed; each frond lasts up to three years. Only trees grown outdoors produce fruit.

Complete, self-fertile, yellow flowers appear when the tree is 4 to 6 years old, followed by fruit at 6 to 10 years. Coconuts need a full year to ripen after reaching mature size. Coconut palm trees grow fruit year-round, yielding between 50 and 200 coconuts every year depending on size and variety. They continue to grow fruit for up to 80 years.

How Palm Trees Grow

The growth habit of other palm trees varies widely. Many feature the characteristic feathery, long leaf shape described in botanical terms as pinnate. Others have oval, fan, or hand-shaped leaves described as palmate. Some palm trees can take years to reach just 5 feet tall while others add 2 to 3 feet in height each year.

Most palm trees with single trunks are characterized by a wide crown with long fronds, like the coconut palm. Other species and cultivars form sprays or mounds with arching fronds or spikes of fan-shaped foliage.

Most, but not all, species of palm trees flower at least once annually forming green or yellow, often fragrant flowers, sometimes followed by edible fruits.

Native Area

Almost all palm trees are found in tropical and sub-tropical environments. Needle palm, the northernmost species in the United States, grows naturally on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Where Coconut Palm Trees Grow

Coconut palm trees can be found in tropical coastal areas worldwide. They grow in Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, and Louisiana, and are found as far north as the Carolinas in some microclimates. These trees grow best in full sunlight with temperatures between 85 and 95 degrees F. and require a minimum 72 degrees F.

Coconut palms are wind and salt tolerant, can survive flooding, and need 30 to 50 inches of rainfall annually with high levels of humidity. They do not tolerate cold temperatures and suffer leaf damage at temperatures below 45 degrees F.

Where Palm Trees Grow

Other genus, species, and cultivars of palms are also found worldwide with the greatest diversity in lowland wet forests, the Caribbean, South America, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands. Most palm trees thrive in environments similar to the coconut palm, although different species are more or less tolerant of flooding, salt and wind exposure, and soil type.

All palms need sun although some prefer indirect light opposed to bright sunlight. Some thrive in desert environments while others grow as understory plants in rainforests.

Uses for Palm Trees

Coconut palm trees are one of the earth's most versatile plants. Along with the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), the coconut tree is the most commercially viable. Both are major sources of oils and fat. The outer hull of the coconut is a source of coir. The innner hard shell serves as fuel, charcoal, and carvings. Coconut water is potable and the flesh is eaten both raw and cooked. Coconut meat is processed into oil for cattle feed and coconut milk, and is used extensively in food preparation and industry. Sap from the flower stalk is potable as sugar, alcohol, and vinegar. Trunks provide wood for construction and leaves are made into baskets and decorative elements.

Other palm trees produce fruits and edible parts like dates and palm hearts. Construction, agroforestry, oil and wax production, furniture and home decor, and reforestation are just a few of the many uses for palm trees. Many types have multiple uses and new ones are being developed and explored commercially worldwide.