Botanically speaking, a coconut is a fibrous one-seeded drupe, also known as a dry drupe. However, when using loose definitions, the coconut can be all three: a fruit, a nut, and a seed. Botanists love classification.

Is coconut seed or nut?

Due to the hard shell and its name it’s tempting to think of the coconut as a nut. However, it’s technically a special type of fruit called a drupe which contains its seed within a hard stone or shell which in turn is contained within a fleshy (or in the coconut’s case, fibrous, outer layer).

Is coconut a fruit or a fat?

Coconut is a unique fruit because of its high fat content. Around 89% of the fat in its meat is saturated ( 4 ). Most of these fats are medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are absorbed intact in your small intestine and used by your body to produce energy ( 5 ).

The coconut is the large, greenish, smooth fruit of a tropical palm tree. While a coconut has a hard shell and a seed, however, a coconut isn’t considered to be a true nut: true nuts (such as walnuts and pecans) are indehiscent (that is, they don’t split open to release their seeds when ripe).