Botanically speaking, a coconut is a simple dry fruit known as a fibrous drupe (not a nut). The husk (mesocarp) is fibrous and there is an inner "stone" (the endocarp). This hard endocarp (which is the "coconut" you find in the stores of non-tropical countries) has three germination pores that are clearly visible on the outside surface once the husk is removed. It is through one of these that the radicle emerges when the embryo germinates. When viewed on end, the endocarp and germination pores resemble the face of a monkey, the Portuguese word for which is coco. (With partial thanks to Wikipedia)...