Generally, the fruit consists of a wall or pericarp and seeds. The pericarp may be dry or fleshy. When pericarp is thick and fleshy, it is differentiated into the outer epicarp, the middle mesocarp and the inner endocarp.

The edible part of coconut is endosperm. The milk of tender coconut represents the oily endosperm in liquid form. Later it gets deposited along the walls of endocarp and forms edible flesh.