T. catappa has a very wide natural distribution in near-coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, through tropical Asia and into the Pacific. The rind of the fruit, comprising light, pithy/corky tissue, enables the fruits to float and be dispersed long distances by sea currents (Kadambi, 1954; Nakanishi, 1989; Troup and Joshi, 1984). The extent to which its range has been extended through movement by humans is difficult to determine.