Seeds: magnificent designs
From the information presented in a preceding article on this website entitled “Plants, why do they reproduce and where does this ability come from? ” it may be concluded that plants are the product of an intelligent designer.(1) Science cannot determine who this intelligent designer was/is but the existence of one. Seeds are an important part of these magnificent designs. As viewed from the Judeo-Christian perspective, this intelligent designer is the creator God of the Bible.
“And God said,
Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself,
upon the earth: and it was so.” Genesis 1:11 KJV
Seeds complete the plants’ biological process of reproduction and multiplication. This is important for the survival of the plant’s species and the benefits they provide for the ecosystem. Seeds and their fruit are a major source of food for humans. To the first man and woman,
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth,
and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be meat.” Genesis 1:29 KJV
“[T]he seeds of wheat, rice, corn, barley, rye, and oats are our primary source of calories today. And the various types of beans are a major source of protein.”[1] Seeds as a group “contain heart-, bone-, muscle-, brain- and immune-supporting nutrients,” fiber, and “[m]any seeds contain healthy, unsaturated fats.” [2]
Animals provide a means of spreading seeds. Some of the seeds that animals eat pass through them unharmed and are deposited far away in their scat (feces) to grow there. Squirrels and chipmunks bury hundreds of acorns at scattered locations for future food, some of which will germinate and grow into oak trees. Birds also spread seeds such as date, pine, almond, and pecan by flying them to more opportune locations to peck into for food; some of these seeds are lost or abandoned and may germinate. Seeds like foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum), sandbur weed (Cenchrus longispinus), hedge parsley (Torilis arvensis), hounds tongue (Cynoglossum officinale), and puncture vine (Tribulas terrestris) hitch a ride for long distances by sticking to clothes and the fur of animals.
Many plants utilize the wind to spread their seeds. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), milkweed (genus Asclepias), horseweed (Erigeron canadensis), sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), and sycamore (Plantanus occidentalis) seeds among others have many fibers attached to a central point that act like a parachute (pappus) allowing them to spread by hitching a ride on the wind.
Some
seeds have single or double wings (samara) including maple (Acer genus), certain pine (Pinus genus), and trumpet vine (Campsis radicans)
that slow their rate of descent and allow them to be blown further from the tree or vine.
Tumbleweed plants like Russian thistle (Salsola tragus) die out in the winter becoming dry and brittle allowing their shoot systems to break off from their root systems. Then blown by the wind, they roll dropping seeds wherever they go. One Russian thistle plant produces about one quarter of a million seeds. [3]
Filaree (Erodium botrys) seeds have amazing unique characteristics to spread and plant themselves. As the seeds ripen and dry out, they have a spring that gains stored energy that eventually flings the seeds from the plant. Filaree seeds after dispersal can twist and untwist “in response to changes in humidity” boring themselves into the ground for potential germination. [4]
Some plants such as dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium) and squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium) forcefully eject their seeds,
blasting them laterally up to many meters away. This feat of self-dispersal comes when osmotic pressure builds up to bursting. [5]
Seeds
are also spread by water. Seeds may be transported by storm runoff or fall into steams to be deposited downstream. Coconuts (Cocos
genus) can germinate after some time in salt water and are known to have spread by sea from island to island. Mangrove seeds germinate
while still on the tree forming propagules that drop and must remain in water for a minimum period for embryonic development while
they are being dispersed. [6]
Certain round fruit can potentially disperse by rolling. [7] Fruit such as apples, oranges, and grapefruits
when they drop from the tree may roll away even on almost horizontal ground. Of course, when round fruit falls on a steep slope, they
may roll much further.
Most plants produce many seeds that increase the odds for the next generation’s survival. In my garden, a single
petunia blossom produced around a hundred seeds, a single California poppy blossom produced around sixty-five seeds, and a trump vine
legume produced 149 seeds. Grass like those in the gallery below produce hundreds of seeds per plant. Kiwi, banana, and fig fruits
have hundreds of seeds. Pomegranates contain 200 to 1400 seeds. [8] The number of seeds for the different varieties of sunflowers
evaluated by the North Dakota State University varied from 570 to 1,588 seeds per head. [9] All kinds of animals including ants and
other bugs, birds, tree and ground squirrels, and chipmunks scavenge for seeds. They eat so many seeds that some plants may end up
extent except for the vast amount of seeds produced. Fruits like plum, apricot, and peach have one pit usually containing “one seed
or rarely, two or three, in which case only one develops fully.” [10]
Dormancy in seeds is a powerful means of survival for the
next generation. Most seeds can remain dormant for one, two, three or more years waiting for the right environmental conditions to
germinate and grow. In the Beal experiment that is still ongoing, most of the weed seed species lost viability in the first 60 years
and 40 percent of Verbascum seeds were viable “after 141 years in the soil.” [11] Some much older dormant seeds have been germinated
including an approximately 1,000-year-old Commiphora seed found in a cave in the Judean desert, [12] and a 1,900-year-old date seed
found at Masada. [13]
Germination requirements vary among the different seed types. Generally, to end dormancy seeds require the following:
· moisture to cause the seed coat to swell up and become soft and crack and to activate enzymes and metabolism
· air flow and access to oxygen for seed respiration
· optimal temperature range which varies according to seed
type
· light for certain seeds and darkness for others
Some seeds such as purple coneflower (Echinacea
purpurea), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), redbud (genus Cercis), [14] and peach [15] need one or more freezing event(s) before
they germinate thus avoiding winter snow or spring frost. Some seeds are fire-activated to break their dormancy such as the Rhamnaceae
(Buckthorn) family, including genus Ceanothus, coffeeberry (Frangula californica), and redberry (Rhamnus crocea). [16] Some Australian
and African plants require smoke to germinate. [17] In desert areas, the outer coat of whispering bells’ (Emmenanthe pendulifora)
seeds must be scratched by being blown by wind across rough sand to permit moisture to enter and initiate germination. [18]
Seeds
like the plants that produce them have undoubtedly changed over the years. They with the rest of creation are devolving. That said,
seeds are still an extremely amazing means of plant reproduction and healthy food sources. They continue to be magnificent designs
that human intelligence and ingenuity cannot match.
Notes:
(1) That plants were created
by an intelligent designer and did not evolve is supported by: (i) all plants had to reproduce from the beginning as life only comes
from life, (ii) the infinitesimal probability of organic life forming by chance, (iii) the DNA in plant cells contain large amounts
of information and information can only come from intelligence, (iv) natural selection can only select from what is there already
and does not create new information, (v) mutations result in the loss of information resulting in de-evolution, and (vi) flowers demonstrate
magnificent designs with each of their many parts having purpose towards one or more goals.
(2) Mangrove (seeds can grow and
thrive in extremely wet and salty conditions where most other seed-bearing plants would die. Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) seeds
will grow in soil saturated in water but not submerged in water. [19]
Picture:
(a) Oleksandr K,
CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
References:
[1] Catchpoole, D., “Sensational Seeds – compact packages attest to God’s handiwork,” creation.com,
viewed internet December 10, 2024
[2] “The nutrition powerhouse we should eat more of,” BBC, viewed internet November 23, 2024
[3] “Russian
Thistle” wsu.edu, viewed internet December 13, 2024
[4] Evangelista D., et al, “The mechanics of explosive dispersal and self-burial
in the seeds of the filaree...,” February 15, 2011, biologists.com
[5] Lambers, H., “seed, Agents of dispersal, Dispersal by water,”
November 22, 2024, britannica.com
[6] “Reproductive Strategies of Mangroves,” nhmi, viewed internet December 10, 2024
[7] Patterson,
R., “Spreading Life up High,” S5E10, Unlocking Science, Answers in Genesis App
[8] “How Many Seeds Do Pomegranates Have?” chefsresource.com,
viewed internet December 16, 2024
[9] Robby, “How Many Seeds Per Sunflower? A closer Look at Sunflower Seed Production,” June 10, 2024,
stonepostgardens.com
[10] "drupe,” britannica.com, viewed internet December 11, 2024
[11] Chacko, A., “144-year old experiment reveals
surprisingly long lasting seeds,” December 16, 2023, interestingengineering.com
[12] Pare, S., “Lost biblical tree resurrected from
1,000-year-old mystery seed found in the Judaean Desert,” September 23, 2024, livescience.com
[13] Katz, B., “Scientists Grew Palm
Trees From 2000-Year-Old Seeds,” February 7, 2020, smithsonianmag.com
[14] “Seed stratification: What seeds require cold treatment,”
January 27, 2022, extension.illinois.edu
[15] Jamie, “How to Germinate Peach Seeds, Full Guide Plus FAQs & Tips,” rennieorchards.com,
viewed internet December 16, 2024
[16] Mullen, L., “How Trees Survive and Thrive After a Fire” nationalforests.org, viewed internet
December 12, 2024
[17] “Just add water? Weird ways plants germinate,” science.org.au, viewed internet December 12, 2024
[18] “The Seedy
Side of Plants, Endlessly Adaptable, Nature,” PBS, February 10, 2008, pbs.com
[19] Kelly, B., “How to Grow a Bald Cypress Tree from
Seed,” February 7, 2008, hunker.com