What is the edible part of the coconut?

There are a variety of products and byproducts that you can get from a coconut. First, when you cut open a coconut, in the center is coconut water. The younger the coconut, the more waters will be in the center (optimal at around 7-9 months). Coconut water is one of the best beverages one can put in his/her body (see www.TRUCOCO.com for information on coconut water). As a coconut ages, the white part on the inside (this is called the flesh, or meat of the the coconut) grows and the amount of water typically decreases. The white part of the coconut is used to make a variety of products, such as coconut milk, coconut oil and coconut chips. All coconut products have a great amount of health benefits. Check out this article by a Dr. Mercola who has done a bunch of work on coconuts: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/27/coconut-water-ultimate-rehydrator.aspx

For the shells. they are mostly discarded, however, there are a variety of uses of the shells as well, even for furniture.