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 jam custard. It is often eaten on toast or pandesal, used as a filling for pan de coco, and is used to make kalamay. A less viscous version made with coconut milk ("gata") is known as "latik" (anglicized as "coconut caramel"), and is used in place of syrup in numerous native Filipino desserts. The kaya of Thailand is called sangkhaya (, ) in Thai. There are two major types of kaya eaten in Thailand. One type is more liquid than the other, while the less thick kaya is similar to what is eaten in Malaysia and Indonesia. People either spread it