I've been thinking a lot about how real animals from distant parts of the world may have been the inspiration for various mythical creatures (e.g. Indian rhinoceros -> unicorn). I've heard that certain other mythical plants were developed similarly (e.g. cotton -> Vegetable Lamb of Tartary).

So, do you think the Jinmenju (a tree whose edible fruits have human faces that are always laughing) from Japanese mythology could have been based on coconut palms? I've never heard this possibility discussed, although it sounds obvious to me.

Oooh, that sounds like a later Japanese evolution of the waqwaq tree! The exact nature of this tree with vocal, feminine fruit and its location have been the subject of debate.

See, women do grow on trees.

Now, what could this and/or the jinmenju ultimately come from? Hard to conclusively tell, considering the centuries of broken telephone. One suggestion is that the waqwaq is an account of the pandanus, which is vakwa in Malagasy. Another is that it is a distortion of Philippine mythology - the aswang is known as wakwak in Surigao, and cries "kakak! kakak!" much like the waqwaq fruits cry "waq! waq!"

References

Jinmenju