A second example of a plant with unique survival features is the floating boxfruit. As its name suggests, this unique fruit is shaped like a box. Like all other mangrove plants, it faces the extra challenge of having to avoid falling straight into water and getting drowned or getting washed away before it can germinate during high tide.
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| A decomposed box fruit we found on land - notice the fibres of the fruit? |
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| What it must have originally looked like |
As a result, the boxfruit has come up with a solution that fits its circumstances perfectly, even using the rapid change of tide levels to its advantage. Covered in a non-porous, smooth and hard skin and its seed covered with a 5cm thick layer of spongy fibre, it is extremely water-resistant and bouyant. In fact, it has the ability to stay alive afloat for 15 years, by which time it should have been washed ashore. The only ingredient it would then need would be a soaking in rainwater. This method of seed dispersion by water is similar to that of the coconut.
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