Silent seafarers
While the people of the world are going about their daily lives, these beautiful Sea Hearts, or Entada Gigas, are floating on the seas. They never know where they are going to land and put roots into the earth.
They are so watertight that they can float on the sea for two years. Millions of Sea Hearts float on the sea at any one time.
Giant plants
These Sea Hearts are the seeds of a giant bean plant called Entada Gigas. The stalk of the Entada Gigas plant grows very quickly. It can grow 30 metres in 18 months.
The Entada plants grow by climbing up trees in tropical forests. The stem of the Entada can grow up trees 30 metres high. Then it branches out to the tops of other trees. The stem is used by monkeys, snakes, lizards and many other animals of the forest. This why it is known as the 'monkey ladder'.