Flowers are pretty (sometimes) and fruits are tasty (sometimes). So often that’s the beginning and ending of our thoughts about the matter. And usually we don’t get the connection between the two. But the flower’s job is to grow into a fruit, and the sequence of events involved in the process is no less than miraculous.
Pretty flowers are pretty because they are designed to attract pollinators—agents (usually insects) that carry sticky pollen grains containing sperm cells from an anther (male organ) of one flower to a stigma (pollen receiving part of the female organ) of another flower. Not-so-pretty flowers are usually designed to produce a lot of dry pollen that blows about in the wind and by chance lands on a stigma.
That (cross-pollination) is only the beginning of the process however. What follows (hope you can follow it) is even more complex. After it lands on a stigma, a pollen grain germinates (sprouts) and grows down through the style (stalk) of the pistil (female organ). That sprouting pollen grain is literally a tiny male plant, containing two sperm nuclei. When its tip reaches the ovary, it finds an ovule (egg-containing structure) and grows through a microscopic pore (micropyle) and quickly fertilizes the egg nucleus. The second sperm joins with another nucleus in the ovule.
What does a fertilized egg do? It grows into an embryo. And that is what happens in the flower. The whole ovule grows into what we call a seed containing the tiny embryonic plant, a supply of food and a protective coat.
Meanwhile, the ovary starts to grow into various fleshy (and tasty) layers and a protective (and colorful) coat. And that is what we call a fruit. For us it is pretty and tasty, and the same goes for birds and other animals that use it for food and serve the plant by distributing its seeds.
I hope I didn’t bore you to death with that confusing botany lesson, but I wanted to remind us that nothing in life is simple, even though we may get that impression from a superficial glance or thought. Plants may seem simple because they only consist of five organs (root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit) and they don’t jump around. But internally and biochemically they are much more sophisticated than we are. (Can you make your own food from scratch? And I mean really from scratch, using carbon dioxide, water and a few minerals.)
To the evolutionary scientist, the origin of flowering plants is an enigma. To those of us who believe that the Bible is not just a “spiritual” book but that it contains scientific truth, it is no mystery, but a sure sign of the Creator’s magnificent engineering skill. Click here for the truth.
By the way, the photographs are of the flowers and fruit of the Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana). The flowers bloomed in May and the fruits are ripening in July, an indication of how long the whole process takes. (Click on the pictures to enjoy them more fully.)
Pretty flowers are pretty because they are designed to attract pollinators—agents (usually insects) that carry sticky pollen grains containing sperm cells from an anther (male organ) of one flower to a stigma (pollen receiving part of the female organ) of another flower. Not-so-pretty flowers are usually designed to produce a lot of dry pollen that blows about in the wind and by chance lands on a stigma.
That (cross-pollination) is only the beginning of the process however. What follows (hope you can follow it) is even more complex. After it lands on a stigma, a pollen grain germinates (sprouts) and grows down through the style (stalk) of the pistil (female organ). That sprouting pollen grain is literally a tiny male plant, containing two sperm nuclei. When its tip reaches the ovary, it finds an ovule (egg-containing structure) and grows through a microscopic pore (micropyle) and quickly fertilizes the egg nucleus. The second sperm joins with another nucleus in the ovule.
What does a fertilized egg do? It grows into an embryo. And that is what happens in the flower. The whole ovule grows into what we call a seed containing the tiny embryonic plant, a supply of food and a protective coat.
Meanwhile, the ovary starts to grow into various fleshy (and tasty) layers and a protective (and colorful) coat. And that is what we call a fruit. For us it is pretty and tasty, and the same goes for birds and other animals that use it for food and serve the plant by distributing its seeds.
I hope I didn’t bore you to death with that confusing botany lesson, but I wanted to remind us that nothing in life is simple, even though we may get that impression from a superficial glance or thought. Plants may seem simple because they only consist of five organs (root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit) and they don’t jump around. But internally and biochemically they are much more sophisticated than we are. (Can you make your own food from scratch? And I mean really from scratch, using carbon dioxide, water and a few minerals.)
To the evolutionary scientist, the origin of flowering plants is an enigma. To those of us who believe that the Bible is not just a “spiritual” book but that it contains scientific truth, it is no mystery, but a sure sign of the Creator’s magnificent engineering skill. Click here for the truth.
By the way, the photographs are of the flowers and fruit of the Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana). The flowers bloomed in May and the fruits are ripening in July, an indication of how long the whole process takes. (Click on the pictures to enjoy them more fully.)
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