Kamala Harris inspired a coconut craze. In Florida, the tree has a history.

Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy has gifted the Democratic Party a tropically themed social media buzz.In a viral video of remarks the vice president made in May last year, Harris recalls her mother saying, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” Harris laughed, then said, ”You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”The chairperson of the Biden-now-Harris campaign said in June that Florida is not a battleground state . But for what it’s worth, the state ranks second in the nation in sightings of coconut palms, now a key symbol in the social media trend supporting Harris’ campaign.That’s according to data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, which places Florida just behind Hawaii for the number of reported sightings of coconut palms.Coconut palms are most common in South Florida. In fact, Palm Beach, where former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home is located, is so named because early settlers claimed coconuts from a shipwreck and planted them to try to launch a commercial coconut industry, according to the town’s website . There’s also Miami neighborhood Coconut Grove, the Broward city of Coconut Creek and shopping centers with names like Coconut Point.Don’t get us started on the number of “palm” places. The list is even longer and includes Palm Harbor, Palm Springs, Palm Beach and Palm Bay.Florida has long appreciated the coconut tree. In the early 1900s, Key Biscayne was home to a sprawling coconut plantation. In 1928, the Vero Beach Press-Journal published a Scientific Monthly piece that declared the plant the most valuable tree in the world.“The coconut tree provides food, drink, shelter and profit for millions,” the article said. “The future of tropical lands would be dark indeed without it.”Shells and waste make good fuel, similar to charcoal, the piece said, while the “coir,” or fiber from the husk, can be used in “door mats, brushes of all kinds, stuffing for mattresses and other purposes.” Fermented sap can become sugar or liquor.While coconut palms are not native to Florida, they were heavily relocated by Floridians years ago as essential economic crops.Sometimes the trees were as much of a hazard as they could be a delight. The News-Press of Fort Myers in 1951 documented a 45-foot-high coconut tree on Highway 41 in Estero, “laden with ripening fruit the year ‘round,” where the coconuts grew too tall to pick.“The trunk grew towards the highway and the wind blew dead fronds and ripe coconuts out onto the road, a permanent hazard to passersby,” the paper said. “It became obvious that this glamorous tree would have to give way to increased traffic.”A crowd watched from the highway as the tree, still heavy with coconuts, was removed from the ground and laid out along the bed of a long truck. It was replanted in Fort Myers Beach, “without danger to the public,” the newspaper reported.A University of Florida assessment of non-native plants in natural areas predicted coconut palms to be invasive in South Florida but said it can still be planted under certain conditions. (That is to say, they exist in the context of all in which they live and what came before them.) Coconut palms should not be planted near canals, fallen fruit should not be let into flowing waterways connected to open water and unwanted fruit should be discarded in yard waste, according to the assessment.The Tampa Tribune in 1954 published another piece of advice labeled “Timely tip to Tampans.” It suggested picking coconuts off trees before hurricanes come.Google Trends data shows a spike in interest in Google searches related to Harris’ coconut quote in Florida after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris.Many coconut palms in Miami were planted by a retired firefighter named Elvis Cruz, according to a 2016 Miami Herald article . Cruz was called “a small-time Johnny Appleseed” after planting heaps of trees in the 1990s to replace those lost during a “lethal yellowing blight.”While the city used to grow its own coconut trees and pass out coconut palms to citizens, Miami has since moved away from planting fruit-bearing trees on public property.“It’s an iconic tree in terms of our image, our culture,” Cruz told the Herald.

Kamala Harris inspired a coconut craze. In Florida, the tree has a history.

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