''Entada gigas'', commonly known as the monkey-ladder, sea bean, cœur de la mer or sea heart, is a species of

flowering A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

in the

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

family,

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

of the Mimosa subfamily, which is often raised to family rank (Mimosaceae). They are native to

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is notable for having the family's largest seedpods, which measure across and can reach in length. There have been reports of pods up to eight feet (2.5 meters) in length. This pod, like all

legumes A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...

, is a single

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

, the largest carpel of any known plant. Inside the pods are ten to fifteen

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s, each of which have a diameter of and a thickness of . The seeds contain a hollow cavity, which gives them

buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the p ...

. After being washed by rain into rivers and then the ocean, the seeds of ''E. gigas''

drift Drift or Drifts may refer to: Geography * Drift or ford (crossing) of a river * Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States * In Cornwall, England: ** Drift, Cornwall, village ** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village ...

long distances on

ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, s ...

s. Seed buoyancy and vitality lasts at least two years. File:Sea heart (Entada gigas) seeds.jpg, Sea heart (Entada gigas) seeds File:Monkey_Ladder_Vine_canopy.jpg, A canopy formed over lianas File:Entada_gigas1.jpg, ''Entada gigas'' seeds, resembling hearts

References

External links

Journey of a Sea Heart (Entada gigas)

gigas Gigas may refer to: * Gigas, one of the Gigantes (Giants) in Greek mythology * Gigas (company), a Spanish cloud services company * ''Codex Gigas'', a medieval manuscript * gigue or giga, a dance See also * A. gigas (disambiguation) * D. gigas * E. ...

Flora of Africa Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Central America Flora of Colombia Flora of Venezuela Decorative fruits and seeds Pantropical flora Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Mimosoideae-stub