[00:00.96]There is one plant castaway that needs no help in finding new land,
[00:05.79]a plant that has probably done more to change the fortunes of island life than any other,
[00:10.99]and one of the greatest long-distance travellers of all time
[00:14.29]The humble coconut
[00:17.73]Its seed is a compact survival capsule
[00:20.95]Buoyant and filled with food for germination,
[00:23.77]it can survive for up to two months at sea,
[00:26.69]long enough to float from one remote island to the next
[00:30.61]On arrival,
[00:32.13]it lays down roots into bare sand and taps into the reservoirs of underground freshwater
[00:37.98]Without coconuts,
[00:39.94]most of the tropical islands in the South Pacific would have remained uninhabitable for both animals and people
[00:46.75]There is one set of islands, however, that is so remote that even the coconut couldn't reach it