Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
This set is inspired by a Roman arena.
Bozdağ Film Platolari
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Wortley built the wooden backpack she used while retracing Alexandra David-Néel’s journey from a chair she found on the street in London.
How Elise Wortley Climbed Mont Blanc in 1830s Women’s Attire
27 days ago
Simplicity is key: Just a slice of bread with a sprinkling of salt and pepper is the perfect accompaniment.
The Sweet Second Life of Creole Cream Cheese
27 days ago
My rendition of frog legs, popping mushroom curry, pad prik khing with salted egg yolk, and sweet khanom thuai.
Recreating My Favorite Meal From Thailand
27 days ago
Inside London’s Gorgeously Curated ‘Art Restaurants’
27 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Newport Beach California's Coconut Palm
California's Coconut Palm is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

California's Coconut Palm

One of the only known surviving coconut palm trees in the entire state.

Newport Beach, California

Added By
naturedude
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
There it is, in all its puny glory, Newport Beach’s Cocos nucifera.   naturedude / Atlas Obscura User
There it is, in all its puny glory, Newport Beach’s Cocos nucifera.   naturedude / Atlas Obscura User
This coconut did not come from California.   Wiki User: Dtfman
This is what a coconut tree is supposed to look like, in the Arab state of Oman.   Wiki User: billy1847
Planted this coconut tree I brought from Honolulu airport about 10 years ago. Slow to grow, but thriving indoors at my Torrance, CA home!   nonoybee / Atlas Obscura User
Missing Coconut Palm - Image from June 2016   google
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Despite California's association with palm-lined beaches, almost none of those palms are the type that produces coconuts. Well, okay, maybe one or two.

The official USDA hardiness zone of the Coconut is 10a (meaning it can handle temps of 30-ish Fahrenheit VERY briefly, and can also be seen in very small microclimates in 9b parts of Texas and Florida) but that is only with hot humid summers. In California, the places that have proper moisture and suitable winter temperatures (10a or higher) do not have high enough summer temps. If summer temperatures do not reliably reach 80 F or higher, then a Coconut Palm will only live for a few years before it is irreversibly weakened by not having the proper level of sugars built up in its roots, which become malformed and underdeveloped by the lack of ground heat.

Going on a quick tangent, the zone at which coconut palms will reliably grow in arid places, areas with maritime summers, or both, is zone 11b. To prove this point, a patch of them was planted some years ago in a drip-irrigated experimental garden in Israel's Kibbutz Ketura (very dry, hot, and roughly zone 10b) and they all were gone after about a decade of too many desiccating winds and nighttime chills, they would have indeed had a better chance surviving a frost in south Texas. That just goes to show that a simple zone designation on the tag of the plant you have can be misleading to say the least.

Back on the subject of California, the places where summer temperatures are suitable, it is often too dry all year and too cold in winter for the tree to survive. That being said, there is a tiny microclimate area in Newport Beach (zone 10b) in Orange County where conditions are just barely sufficient, and the palm, which was planted in 1984, exists in a dwarfed form.

This might be the northernmost of its kind in the world, but there quite possibly may be a single specimen at the Palermo botanic gardens in Sicily, which is farther north, that is talked about on the web but does not seem to exist in photos, and may not exist at all.

This "coconut-problem" is known to be a much talked about topic on California gardening forums and the bane of gardeners there, making this anomalous lone palm is a sort of pilgrimage site for gardening enthusiasts.

Update October 2016: Sadly, this coconut palm appears to be gone now.

Update: There is a quite healthy coconut palm in a outdoor courtyard in La Quinta, California (Coachella Valley).  It is tall enough to be visible from the street. The owners brought the coconut back from Hawaii years ago.

Related Tags

Flora Horticulture Beaches Plants

Community Contributors

Added By

naturedude

Edited By

Rachel, chazkelly, nonoybee

  • Rachel
  • chazkelly
  • nonoybee

Published

March 20, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.city-data.com/forum/california/704003-does-southern-cali-have-coconut-palms-2.html
California's Coconut Palm
2430 Pacific Coast Highway
Newport Beach, California, 92663
United States
33.619225, -117.921862
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Frozen Banana Stands of Balboa Island

Newport Beach, California

miles away

Fashion Island Wind Chimes

Newport Beach, California

miles away

Bunnyhenge

Newport Beach, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Newport Beach

Newport Beach

California

Places 3

Nearby Places

The Frozen Banana Stands of Balboa Island

Newport Beach, California

miles away

Fashion Island Wind Chimes

Newport Beach, California

miles away

Bunnyhenge

Newport Beach, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Newport Beach

Newport Beach

California

Places 3

Related Places

  • Calle Dr. Garcia Rogel street in Palmeral de Orihuela

    Orihuela, Spain

    Palmeral of Orihuela

    The second largest palm grove in Europe was planted during Moorish times and has been largely unchanged since then.

  • Waltham, Massachusetts

    Lyman Estate Greenhouses

    These beautiful garden buildings are among the oldest surviving greenhouses in the United States.

  • The rhododendron garden in May.

    Portland, Oregon

    Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

    Nestled between a college and a golf course, the garden is home to more than 2,500 rhododendrons.

  • Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden.

    Los Angeles, California

    Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden

    This “living museum” at UCLA exhibits thousands of plant species from all over the world.

  • Trollskogen

    Borgholm, Sweden

    Trollskogen (The Troll Forest)

    Crooked windswept pines give this old forest an enchanted and magical look.

  • Varaždin Cemetery.

    Varaždin, Croatia

    Varaždin Cemetery

    Trimmed trees grow alongside the graves like topiary tombstones.

  • John Bartram’s garden house.

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Bartram's Garden

    The oldest surviving botanic garden in the United States.

  • Casa Popeno’s main garden

    Antigua, Guatemala

    Casa Popenoe

    This restored colonial house was once home to the botanist responsible for bringing avocados to the U.S.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.