Coconut emblem and coat of arms. Coconut trees are grown on all the islands. Before modern construction methods were introduced, coconut leaves were used as roofing material for many houses in the islands, while coconut timber was used to build houses and boats. The main coconut-producing area in the Middle East is the Dhofar region of Oman, but they can be grown all along the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea coasts, because these seas are tropical and provide enough humidity (through seawater evaporation) for coconut trees to grow. The young coconut plants need to be nursed and irrigated with
Coconut circumnavigation and meeting the inhabitants of what would become known as Guam and the Philippines. He explained how at Guam "they eat coconuts" (""mangiano cochi"") and that the natives there also "anoint the body and the hair with coconut and beniseed oil" (""ongieno el corpo et li capili co oleo de cocho et de giongioli""). The origin of the plant is, after many decades, still the subject of debate. It has generally been accepted that the coconut originated in the India–Indonesia region and float-distributed itself around the world by riding ocean currents. The similarities of the local names in the