Page 110 - The Miracle In The Seed

THE MIRACLE IN THE SEED

would not be possible, and seeds would not be able to germinate. 56
After using such force to emerge from the soil, the seedling does
not always find an appropriate environment. As already explained, if
any object blocks the sunlight, the plant has difficulty in photosynthe-
sizing and consequently cannot grow. For this reason, every emerging
shoot will bend toward light as soon as it reaches the surface. This
process is called phototropism, the light-sensitive direction-finding sys-
tem in plants. 57
If you put houseplants in a dark place or somewhere that receives
light from only one direction, after a while you will see that they turn
towards the light, reaching out with their leaves or even twisting into
that direction. It’s very thought-provoking that a seedling can deter-
mine the direction of light and then turn in that direction. But plants
are able to do this with ease, because compared to animals or humans,
plants are much better in their capacity to sense the direction of light,
which we can only do with our eyes. Plants, on the other hand, never
get confused about direction.
Germination is the first stage in the development of a tiny plant
that can grow to be meters in height and tons in weight. As it grows

The sunflower is one of the best examples of plants that turn toward the sun.
Above: The movements of a sunflower throughout one day as it follows the sun.