Your sumptuous lagoon that the world courts
And your jungle where our first flower was born
Sing in the universe this exquisite romance
Of a victorious island and a triumphant lagoon.
When the nature, inventing a new mode of reproduction, created the first flower, did it in New Caledonia, located back then in the middle of a continent called Gondwana, 130 milion years ago. The chosen plant, Amborella trichopoda, a primitive flower, even today devoid of perfume, is the mother of all the flowers of the planet; she met the dinosaurs. The Caledonian archipelago is a paradise for botanists; it is the third country in the world for its endemic flora; and number one worldwide for biodiversity of plants. As for its lagoon, the largest in the world, ranked among the most beautiful, is one of the three inscribed in humanity's heritage for its richness and exceptional beauty. Feather stars, sea whips, corals, soft corals are also like the flowers. It is the triumph of New Caledonia on land and in the sea.
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