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When Snodgrass and Heller visited Clipperton in 1898, they reported that " no land plant is native to the island ".
Other historical accounts from 1711, 1825 and 1839, however, point out that the island had a low grassy or suffrutescent ( partially woody ) flora during those periods ( Sachet, 1962 ).
Coconut palms were introduced in the 1890s, and a few still survive.
Introduction of pigs by guano miners at the beginning of the 20th century reduced the crab population on the island, which in turn allowed grassland to gradually cover about 80 percent of the land surface ( Sachet, 1962 ).
The elimination of these pigs in 1958 has caused most of this vegetation to disappear as millions of crabs ( Gecarcinus planatus ) have returned.
The result is that Clipperton is now virtually a sandy desert, with only 674 remaining palms counted by C. Jost during the " Passion 2001 " French mission, and five islets in the lagoon with grass that these terrestrial crabs cannot reach.

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