A man who traveled to the island of Praslin in eastern Africa believed he had found the Garden of Eden when he saw the Coco de mer tree.

The islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles grow a species of palm that is considered “unique” in the world, called Coco de mer (sea coconut). This type of palm has a slender body, more than 30m high, fan-shaped leaves nearly 5m long. What makes this plant so famous is its seeds. Coco de mer beads are large, heavy and have the exact same shape as a woman’s butt. One of the ancient names of Coco de mer was Lodoicea callipyge. The word “callipyge” in Greek means “beautiful butt”.

Coco de mer is a plant with many mysteries and associated with legends. Before the Seychelles were discovered and settled by humans, tree nuts often washed up on distant shores, like the Maldives (hence the other name Maldivian coconut).

Here, people collect them and bring them to trade. Due to the special shape and size, Coco de mer seeds are considered by many people as an attractive item, having a stimulating effect and helping people have stronger sexual activities.

When the water coconut falls into the sea, due to its large weight, it sinks to the bottom. After a considerable period of immersion in water, the outer shell peels off on its own, the seeds inside decay and float on the surface of the water. Many sailors who saw them believed that they were seeds from a tree that grew on the seabed in a forest at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. It is this belief that makes them call them Coco de mer (in French, meaning “coconut of the sea”).

At that time, Coco de mer nuts were worth more than all the nuts found in the ocean, becoming the private property of the King. People sell them for very high prices, or become precious regal gifts. The Princes of the Middle East, even the Roman Emperor Rudolf II, once gave a fortune to anyone who found these rare beads.

Around the middle of the 18th century, explorers discovered this plant divided into male and female. If Coco de mer seeds are shaped like a girl’s butt, they are taken from a female tree, while the male plants have flowers in the shape of a male sex organ.

The uncanny resemblance to sensitive human organs led the indigenous people to weave a legend that on a stormy night, male and female trees had a relationship with each other. If anyone accidentally saw this scene, they would die or go blind.

Nowadays. Thanks to its unusual size and shape, Coco de mer seeds are believed by indigenous people to be effective in improving bedroom life.