| [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 |
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