Page 84 - The Miracle In The Seed

THE MIRACLE IN THE SEED

The longer red arils, which resemble worms, are eaten by birds.
When the broad bean-like fruits split open, the seeds remain clinging
to the arils, attracting the birds. 40

Symbiotic Relationship between Ants and Plants

As just mentioned, some plants’ reproduction depends on ani-
mals to carry their seeds. This shows an interesting harmony between
plants and animals. To illustrate, let’s take a seed covered in an oily,
edible tissue, called an eliasome. This tissue, seemingly quite ordinary
at first glance, actually plays a vital role in the plant’s survival, for it is
the reason why ants are interested in the plant and play a role in its
proliferation.
As with almost every other seed, this one must also go underg-
round in order to germinate, and to make germination happen, the
core of the seed must be exposed. The plant cannot do this by itself, but
ants can. To them, the oily covering is a very attractive food, so they
collect the seeds with great zeal and carry them to their nests. Thus ini-
tially, the seeds are carried beneath the soil.
Then begins the second important stage for the seeds. Having
spent lots of effort to carry them to their nest, the ants gnaw off the elia-
somes and abandon the seeds themselves. In this way, the part of the
plant that allows for reproduction reaches an ideal position underg-
round. 41
So how did this harmony between ant and seed emerge?
Of course, that the ant does this consciously, acting in knowledge
of what the seeds need to sprout is an untenable idea. And it’s comp-
letely unreasonable to theorize that the ant discovered the seed by ac-
cident one day, took it underground and, seeing that it grew into a
plant, informed the next generations of ants that they should do the
same thing. It’s equally preposterous to claim that somehow, the plant
learned what this species of ant likes, and tailored its seeds accordingly
in order to reproduce.