One of these - a beauty oil made from Argan tree seeds - is quickly becoming all the rage among celebrities and high-end shoppers in the West.

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Dr Hume said the team had also found thousands of leaves, wood, pollen, tree and shrub seeds including the famous dodo tree (Tambalacoque), plus a large number of small land snails and insect parts.

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As the Greek proverb says, why does anybody plant the seeds of a tree whose shade they will never see?

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In 1951, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad branched out beyond the basic business of mail-order Christmas tree decorations, ballpoint pens and bird seeds and added a catalog-only furniture business.

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"In the next four or five years, I think we'll increase not only the fruits per jatropha tree, but we'll also increase the amount of oil in each of those seeds, " Beckford said.

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