Page 78 - The Miracle In The Seed

THE MIRACLE IN THE SEED

Mistletoe (Viscum album) stays green all
through winter when its host trees have all
lost their leaves. Throughout the winter sea-
son it produces small seeds that usually ger-
minate on the trunks and branches of other
trees rather than on the ground. So how is
this done?
The seeds have to cling to a branch of a host
tree and not fall to the ground if they are to
germinate. But under normal circumstances,
the rounded seeds would fall directly to the
ground. This problem is solved for the
mistletoe seeds by the thrush, which is very
partial to mistletoe seeds. This is very impor-
tant, because in order for the plant to repro-
duce, its seeds must pass through the
thrush’s digestive tract. In the belly of the
thrush, the seeds are coated in a very effec-
tive substance called viscin, which, after
passing out of the bird’s body, bonds the
seed to the host. In this way, a new parasitic
plant starts to germinate. (Grains de Vie, p.
47.) It is quite thought-provoking that repro-
duction in the mistletoe is linked to the
thrushes’ love for its berries. Obviously this
association is no coincidence. Mistletoe has
used this method of propagation since it first
existed, for this is how it has been created. It
is God Who makes the two life forms aware
of each other.