Page 53 - The Miracle In The Seed

ntil now, you may never have wondered how plants, fixed li-
fe forms that are not capable of movement, manage to distri-
Ubute their seeds. However, since the time plants came into
existence, they have managed to distribute their seeds by various me-
ans, without the need for any assistance or intervention.
After pollinated flowers form seeds, some of these fall to the gro-
und beside the plant. Other species’ seeds are carried by the wind, or
stick to the fur of animals and are distributed in this way. But this sum-
mary of seed dispersion systems is quite superficial, for when you get
down to the details, you can see that the lives of plants and animals are
directly connected in a number of interesting ways.
As you saw in the previous section, each plant’s seed has a diffe-
rent shape. From the shape of a seed or fruit, it’s possible to determine
what kind of journey it has made – that is, how it’s been distributed.
Some trees, for instance, have fruits that are colorful, fleshy, soft, and
pleasant smelling. These trees, whose seed coats are tough enough to
be resistant to digestive juices, attract birds and other animals. Other
species’ seeds have needles, hooks or thorns that snag and get caught
in the fur of animals, who transport them in this way. Still others travel
on the wind, like so many feathers. Others have wings or swell like
small balloons to help them catch the wind. Such seeds have to be light
enough and of a suitable shape for flight. On the other hand, some
plants simply let their seeds fall to the ground as the seed case splits as
it dries in the sun, while others eject or propel their seeds, through the
tension created in the seedpod while the seeds are growing.
From the examples given so far, the creation of a very detailed dis-
persion system is immediately evident.
The essential point worth noting is the perfection of each method
of dispersion, despite all of the diverse structures. The systems never
fail. Seeds carried by animals are invariably spread in this way, and the
wind always carries those with the appropriate shape.
As the following examples will show, both animals and plants act
in a remarkably conscious fashion in the course of these operations.