The Plant that Breathes Through a Snorkel

Genesis 1:11
“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.”

Plants need oxygen, and those that live on the land breathe through their leaves. Other plants are designed to live and breathe under water. However, when a land plant is submerged in water, it can drown, just like one of us.

Rice is actually a land plant that draws its oxygen from the air; yet, most of the plant must be submerged in water for it to survive. It can grow this way in water as deep as fifteen feet. In flood-prone areas, rice has been known to grow as much as a foot per day in order to keep its topmost leaves out of the water. The reason that rice plants don’t drown brings us to another of the Creator’s clever designs.

The rice plant draws air in through its leaves, as well as through a sheath of air that surrounds its submerged stalk. Rice gives off one carbon dioxide molecule for every oxygen molecule it consumes. But because carbon dioxide dissolves more quickly in water than does oxygen, a vacuum is created within the plant, pulling in still more air.

It appears that God has created so many different forms of life that there are almost no conditions on Earth where something couldn’t live. That itself is a witness that He, and not the forces of evolution, is responsible for creating all living things.

Prayer:
Lord, there is no scientist or anyone else who can even hope to compete with You in skill or knowledge. Help me to be a witness to this fact in a world that desires to deny that You are Creator, and thus remain ignorant of its need for forgiveness through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Notes:
Photo: Oryza sativa or Asian rice. Courtesy of Jeevan Jose. (CC BY-SA 4.0)