漂流者 23

There is one plant castaway that needs no help in finding new land,

a plant that has probably done more to change the fortunes of island life than any other,

and one of the greatest long-distance travellers of all time

The humble coconut

Its seed is a compact survival capsule

Buoyant and filled with food for germination,

it can survive for up to two months at sea,

long enough to float from one remote island to the next

On arrival,

it lays down roots into bare sand and taps into the reservoirs of underground freshwater

Without coconuts,

most of the tropical islands in the South Pacific would have remained uninhabitable for both animals and people

There is one set of islands, however, that is so remote that even the coconut couldn't reach it