"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever" (Isa. 40:8).
In a previous volume we reviewed a few unusual plants—the yellow pitcher, the red sundew, and the warty butterwort. Each of these plants traps and eats insects by dissolving them into a juice which feeds the plant's fibers.
Another meat-eating plant is the bladderwort, which grows in swampy areas. Its stems, rooted in the muddy bottom, produce leaves and flowers that float on the surface. This plant appeals to the underwater bugs, some of which can't resist taking a nibble of the bladder-like swellings on its underwater stems. But the moment they touch it a "door" flies open, and they are sucked inside. The door closes behind them, and they turn into food for the bladderwort.
A similar water plant, the Venus's-flytrap, grows in shallow ocean waters along the coasts of North and South Carolina. A small white flower grows on top of the plant, nestled in a tuft of leaves which have short, stiff hairs on their edges. When a small object touches one of these hairs, the leaf snaps shut, capturing it. If it is a chip or pebble the leaf promptly releases it, but if it's an insect, then the leaf immediately begins to digest it, and the plant is nourished that way.
A plant that does not actually eat insects is the beautifully flowered passion vine of South America. It attracts insects that find its leaves and sweet nectar appealing, but which damage the plant when they get to the flowers. So the Creator provided guardian ants that love the nectar that drips from the blossoms, and they will not allow others to climb to it. However, the ants can't do anything about birds and insects that fly to the plant, wanting to get at the pollen deep in each blossom. To safeguard the important pollen, each plant has been given a stiff, collar-like opening that can only be entered by the specially designed, long, curved beak the Creator has given to an unusual hummingbird that He has arranged to live close by.
Another vine also in South America, the passifiora, has delicate and fragrant blue flowers and relies on bees to pollinate it. But other creatures, such as fire ants and various crawling bugs, find that when they chew its leaves a poison is given off that makes them very uncomfortable. Most of them seem to sense this and leave the passifiora alone.
It is interesting to hear of these and other amazing wonders of God's creation, but we know they will not last forever. He tells us in the Bible that all will be destroyed in a coming time when God is going to bring the world into judgment. But there is one thing that will last forever. Read again the beginning verse to find out what it is.
Do you obey it?