Page 27 - The Miracle In The Seed

Structure and Formation of a Seed

Characteristics of the Nutrient Reserve in Seeds

It is of great importance for the seed to contain a reserve of nutri-
ents for the embryo, since at this early stage, a plant has as yet no le-
aves for photosynthesis and no roots to draw nutrients from the soil.
Until it emerges as a seedling, it must use whatever nutrients already
contained within it to complete its development.
At this point we encounter the miraculous detail that stored in
every seed is just the right amount of nutrient to satisfy its needs. The
nutrient content of seeds that must remain dormant for a long time be-
fore germinating (for example, the coconut) and of seeds that germina-
te soon after coming into contact with water (such as melon and
watermelon) is regulated in different amounts. What’s more, the kind
of nutrients stored – principally starch and storage proteins, and some-
times additionally sugar and fat – depends on the variety of the plant.
Of these, starch is the most essential, as it is the main source of energy
for the embryo. Storage proteins, on the other hand, will provide the
amino acids the embryo requires to build other proteins important for
its growth. 3
Who regulates the amount and kind of nutrients? It cannot be the
seed, because this calibration is done before the seed is formed. Then
does the parent plant regulate the amount of nutrients, by determining
the seed’s stages of development and the length of time before it ger-
minates? To admit such a possibility would mean a series of unreaso-
nable events that are hard to believe, such as the plant having
intelligence and consciousness, foresight and knowledge of events ta-
king place beyond its own sphere. No logical, intelligent person can
believe such a thing.
The evident truth is that the One Who stores in the seed of every
plant exactly the right amount of nutrients it requires, the Creator of all
plants and their systems and stages of fertilization is God.