It needs so much sunlight, it evolved to soar above competing canopy, fronds stretching out like solar panels. See how else it adapted to space, sand and sea.

Despite their association with the West Indies, the coconut palm is not native to the French archipelago and does not have the same capacity as some local species to put down deep roots.

200 years of planting by colonial interests transformed the palm from the revered "Tree of Life" to a cash crop monoculture grown on Pacific atolls for a singular purpose—production of coconut ...