The "One-and-a-Half-Feet" Orchid

Isaiah 40:7-8
“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”

The star orchid is an amazing flower that really shouldn’t even exist. You see, its pollen is located at the bottom of a long and narrow spike – or spur – that extends behind the flower. That’s also where the nectar is. So how long is that spur? The last part of the orchid’s scientific name gives us the answer – a whopping one and a half feet!

That these orchids even exist means there must be a pollinator that can reach into that long spur. And indeed there is. Meet the hawk moth. The proboscis – or tongue – of this moth is over 10 inches long. By getting close enough to the orchid, the moth can reach the pollen with its long tongue.

When Charles Darwin received a specimen of the star orchid in 1862, he deduced that a pollinator with a tongue as long as the spur must exist. Though some people thought he was crazy, the orchid moth was discovered 41 years later. According to evolutionists, the hawk moth “proved Darwin’s theory regarding co-evolution or how plants and pollinators can influence each other’s evolution.”

But we would ask these people, how could the orchid survive if it arrived on the scene long before the moth? And if the moth arrived first, why would it bother to evolve such a long tongue? No, there’s a more reasonable answer. They arrived at about the same time, made for each other by their all-wise Creator.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, the Bible compares us to flowers that are here for a short time and then fade away. But those who, through faith, put their trust in Your Son shall have eternal life! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
Amy Grant, “Christmas Star Orchids: Tips For Growing Star Orchid Plants,” Gardening Know How, 2/2/15. Photo: Angraecum sesquipedale, the star orchid. Courtesy of Scott Zona. Flickr. (CC BY NC 2.0)