A Souvenir

In the last fifteen years of my aviation career I traveled to many interesting and diverse places. I rarely bought souvenirs. Some were given to me by the airlines I assisted. This Coco-de-mer was a gift from the then president of Air Seychelles.

The Coco is the seed of the Coco-de-mer palm tree. It's the largest seed of any plant in the world, weighing as much as 70lb/30 kg. The seeds have been prized since they were discovered in the 18th century -- not only because of their suggestive shape -- they were believed to have aphrodisiac powers.

There are only two naturally occurring populations of the trees, on two of the 115 Seychelles Islands. Both are protected in National Parks. The major threats are poaching, encroachment by invasive species, and an increasing frequency in forest fires.

Trading in seeds is tightly controlled by the Seychelles government. It's illegal to buy a fertile seed and only a limited number of hollowed out seeds are made available for sale. Each requires an official export certificate. I don't know what the going rate for one is, but I'll find out when I put this one up for sale on eBay.