• What means do plants use to make other living things carry their pollen?
• How do plants make use of the wind to carry their seeds?
Every plant has its own unique method of mechanism it uses to disseminate its pollen. In some plants the seeds fall to the ground, in some they are carried by the wind, while in others they attach themselves to animal hairs and are transported in that way. But this is only a very superficial account of the plant seed distribution system. When we look at the details of this distribution process we see that many most interesting phenomena and details take place.
Some Plants Species Have Animals Such As Insects, Birds, Bees or Butterflies Carry Their Pollen:
The mauvish or pinkish-white flowers of the honeysuckle (Lonicera caprifolium) open up in the evening, especially to attract butterflies because the nectar of the long-necked, cone-shaped flower is too deep down for many insect species to reach. For that reason, the twin lips of the wide mouths of these flowers, who owe their pollination to certain species of long-tongued, nocturnal butterfly, remain closed during the day. But when the flowers open up in the evening the lower lip droops downward, thus revealing the pollen in the middle. In this way, nocturnal butterflies attracted by the flowers’ perfume and coming to suck the sweet nectar from its sac in the bottom of the cone rub against the pollen as they fly around the flowers. Fertilization takes place as the seeds they carry attach themselves to a sticky fluid on the top of the flower. As we have seen, there is a flawless harmony between the survival of this plant species and the feeding habits of nocturnal butterflies.
Yucca plants carry a large rosette made up of leaves growing around a stem bearing cream-colored flowers. The distinguishing feature of the yucca is that the pollens are found in a curving region of the flower. For that reason, only a species of moth with a curved mouth can collect the pollen. The moth presses the pollen together into a ball and then carries this to another yucca plant. It first descends to the bottom of the flower and deposits its own eggs. It then climbs to the top and allows the pollen to be released by hitting the pollen ball against this part of the plant. Moth caterpillars later hatch from the eggs and feed on this pollen. Were it not for these moths, yucca plants could never reproduce.
The bee orchid imitates a female bee. These orchids mimic the appearance of a female bee so perfectly that only male bees take any interest in them. Female bees pay no attention to these orchids.
No matter how much these details are expanded, from whatever perspective one looks, whatever logic systems one established, nothing will change the fact that there is something extraordinary in this relationship between plants and animals. These life forms were created in harmony with one another. And this flawless harmony shows us that the force that created both plants and insects knows both very well, is aware of all their various needs and creates them to be compatible with one another. Both life forms are the work of Allah, our Lord Who knows all the worlds and is aware of all things. And their job is to make us acquainted with the greatness, almighty power and flawless artistry of Allah.
The plant has no awareness of either its own existence or these miraculous processes. But it is under the control of Allah, Who plans all its features, created it alongside everything else in the universe and who continues to create at every moment. Allah reveals this fact in the Qur’an:
“The trees all bow down in prostration.” (Surat ar-Rahman, 6)
Plants That Disseminate Their Pollens with the Wind
The way that the winds discharge the duty of carrying pollen that is given to them is without doubt due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, controlling all things from the earth to the sky. Allah reveals this in the following verse:
“We send forth the pollinating winds...” (Surat al-Hijr, 22)
Pollen carried by the winds float in the air for a while and then fall to ground. The pollen of plants with open seeds, and particularly members of the pine family, have two air sacs. It has been established that pine pollen can be carried by air currents for up to 300 kilometers.
Like other plants, those that disseminate their seeds via the wind have different and unique structures. For example, fruits and seeds in the deserts of North Africa are either winged or else light and hairy. Plants, fruits and seeds in the Nubian Desert in northwest Sudan and the deserts of North America are carried by the breeze. And plants in the Middle East and North Africa are spherical and rolled along by the wind in times of drought.
Some of the plants that use the wind to spread their seeds are the dandelion, lettuce and thistle.
Another plant that has its seeds carried by the wind is the goldenberry. The seeds of this plant lie in paper-like, air-filled sacs. These tiny sacs allow the seeds to move in the air like miniature balloons.
Since they grow thinly in the regions they inhabit, maple trees’ greatest helpers in fertilization are the winds. Their propeller-like seeds revolve around their axes in even the slightest breeze, and are thus able to travel for several kilometers.
The plant known as Terminalia calamansanai has V-shaped wings. Thanks to this property they can easily glide even in still air, rather like a paper airplane.
All the living things on earth are created together with systems planned right down to the finest detail and in association with the most delicate balances. We see this, without exception, everywhere we look. All living things introduce us to Allah, their creator. There is no doubt that the one who is worthy of praise here is Allah, who creates all living things with all their different abilities. Like all the living things on earth, plants survive thanks to the systems specially created for them by Allah. In other words, they are under His control:
“Everything in the heavens and everything in the earth belongs to Him. Allah is the Rich Beyond Need, the Praiseworthy.” (Surat al-Hajj, 64)
Plants That Launch Their Seeds with a Rocket System
Although they may seem to be perfectly still, plants in fact move. Cornus canadensis holds the speed record for plants. They spread their seeds with a G-force 800 times greater than a rocket heading into space because this miraculous super plant can launch its seeds for a distance of six meters.
The sandbox plant lives in the Amazon rain forest and fires its fruit like rockets.
Plants like the Mediterranean cucumber use their own power to spread their seeds. As they start to mature, Mediterranean cucumbers begin to fill up with a sticky fluid. The pressure stemming from this fluid rises continuously, and eventually the plant stem explodes. As the stem explodes, it spurts the fluid inside the plant into the air, rather like the trail a rocket leaves behind it. In this way, the cucumber seeds are also spread across the ground.
Evening primroses store their seeds in closed capsules when they are dry. When they become wet, these capsules open up and assume a cup-like shape. In that position all it takes is drops of rain for the seeds to be spread. The flowers of the henna plant have yellow, orange and brown spots, and can commonly be seen along the side of roads. When touched, they shoot their seeds all around, like the firing of a gun.
The shrub is another plant that reproduces using its own opening techniques. But the system in this plant is the exact opposite of that in the Mediterranean cucumber. The pod containing the shrub seeds explodes without the help of any fluid, as the result of evaporation taking place within the plant. As the temperature rises, the side of the pod facing the Sun begins drying out faster than the side in the shade. This leads to a pressure difference on the two sides. Eventually, the pod splits down the middle and the tiny seeds inside are scattered in all directions.
Hura crepitans is a tropical tree unique to Brazil. Its fruits are pumpkin-shaped capsules containing 16 capsules. Under the rays of the Sun, these capsules explode with great force. The hura tree is one of the most successful plants when it comes to scattering its seeds. When the time to scatter the seeds comes, it can spread them for distances of up to 12 meters. Following the explosion, both the seeds and the pods divided in half are scattered all around.
As can be seen from these examples, Almighty Allah has created the universe and everything within a perfect order. The duty of every rational person is to reflect on Allah’s creation by observing the regularity in the universe. Allah reveals in verses that there is no other god than Him and that salvation consists of worshiping Him alone:
Even the details involved in the scattering of a single seed show that plants appear in a perfect and flawless form, together with all their structural features. And it is impossible for this to happen as the result of blind chance or random and unconscious natural processes.
The obvious truth is that plants are also the work of Allah, the creator of the universe. There is no other god than Almighty Allah. The duty of every intelligent person is to live without forgetting that truth and to turn to Allah in all they do.
“Your god is Allah alone, there is no god but Him. He encompasses all things in His knowledge.” (Surah Ta Ha, 98)
“Did you suppose that We created you for amusement and that you would not return to Us?’ Exalted be Allah, the King, the Real. There is no god but Him, Lord of the Noble Throne. Whoever calls on another god together with Allah, has no grounds for doing so at all and his reckoning is with his Lord. Truly the disbelievers have no success.” (Surat al-Mu’minun, 115-117)
