FROM ISLAND FOLKLORE TO FRAGRANCE: HOW THE COCO DE MER BECAME A SOUGHT AFTER SCENT
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In the middle of the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa, a legend endures: a coconut so singular that it has inspired a lasting legacy in perfumery on the island of Seychelles for decades. Known as the Coco de Mer, it grows only in Africa’s smallest country and holds a peculiar fascination for Creole locals, and for foreigners who have spent thousands on the suggestively shaped nut. Whether drawn by its decorative allure or its reputed aphrodisiac properties, the palm has long been steeped in folklore, most commonly told in schools: tales of the trees intertwining in passionate embraces on stormy nights, with the dire warning that anyone who glimpsed their coupling risked blindness, or worse, death.