Plants Archives

July 10, 2025July 8, 2025

Unloved Animals that Have Hidden Talents

National Geographic published a list of ten animals that you would not like to see in your backyard. They are unloved animals with hidden talents. Their ugliness or repulsive behavior keeps them from being displayed on cereal boxes or featured in animated movies. However, these unloved animals play essential roles, and many of them are endangered.

Vultures are bald, so when they plunge their head into a dead animal, they get no residue on their feathers. They have specialized stomach acid that neutralizes harmful bacteria in what they eat. These birds help prevent the spread of pathogens that cause diseases such as bubonic plague and anthrax.

Other unloved animals include leopard slugs, which consume decomposing plants and insects, thereby returning nutrients to the soil. The three-toed sloth’s fur supports a variety of insects and moths. The proboscis monkey’s huge nose may be unappealing to humans, but it attracts females and serves as a means of communication, much like a bullhorn. The African bullfrog can weigh as much as four pounds and digs burrows that hold water, allowing it to survive dry seasons.

The ferocious honey badgers have a fearsome reputation. Still, they pose virtually no threat to humans and can withstand snakebites, including those from venomous snakes such as cobras and black mambas. They are also unaffected by bee stings and can defend themselves against wild dogs and hyenas. Indian flying foxes are large bats with sharp teeth that live in large colonies. They are one of the world’s largest pollinators, eating fruits and nectar.

Tongan scrub fowl in Australia have large feet with claws that enable them to dig burrows, which can be five feet deep. Aye-ayes are primates found in Madagascar whose diet consists of grubs and insects in trees. Although people have killed them thinking they bring bad luck, they are essential predators of destructive insects and beetles.

Even in the ocean, we see unloved animals. The hairy frogfish has an appendage that resembles a worm, which it wiggles to attract small fish. This fish resembles an amphibian, covered with stringy spines for camouflage.

It seems that all of these “unloved” animals are designed to fit into a specific environment. Evolutionary models fail to trace a gradualism in any of these cases, but the balance of life in the natural world depends on them. These unloved animals demonstrate the truth of Romans 1:20 that we can “know there is a God through the things He has made.”

Reference: “The astonishing superpowers of nature’s most unloved animals” in National Geographic magazine, July 2025, pages 50-71, provides more details, including pictures, of these animals.

July 7, 2025July 7, 2025

Taxonomic Ranking of Living Things

Suppose that billions of years ago, a once-in-an-eon event took place. In a primordial soup of chemical elements, some of them came together to form amino acids. Over time, some of these amino acids assembled themselves into complex organic molecules such as RNA or DNA. Eventually, a living cell formed, complete with a nucleus and cell walls. It became the first living cell capable of metabolizing and reproducing through cell division. This was the first species in the taxonomic ranking of living things.

Next, imagine that mutations and natural selection acted on this initial species, causing it to evolve into different species. Over eons, more species appeared until one developed sexual reproduction. Then, things started to accelerate. Billions of years of reproduction and speciation resulted in a completely different animal. This was no longer a new SPECIES but the beginning of a new GENUS. More billions of years later, a new FAMILY of living creatures emerged. As life diversified, new ORDERS of animals appeared, followed by new CLASSES. Eventually, new PHYLA emerged within the animal KINGDOM. The tree of life finally grew into the amazing diversity we have today.

The problem is that the narrative we described seems to be in reverse order. Scientific classification, or the taxonomic ranking of living things, aims to illustrate the progression of genetic change, or evolution. The taxonomic ranking follows: species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom. This bottom-up progression described in our narrative does not align with the fossil record.

The stages of life development seem reversed in the fossil record. Dr. Hugh Ross noted, “…in many instances, such as the Avalon and Cambrian explosions, enormous macroevolutionary changes occurred rapidly; later, over long time spans, mere microevolutionary changes occurred. Diversification of phyla occurred first, and in no time, while diversification of species and genera occurred over eons.”

In summary, the fossil record appears to show the opposite of what naturalistic evolution predicts. However, the pattern in the fossil record aligns with the biblical view that God created various kinds of animals, each capable of change and adaptation. Their genetic design allows for microevolutionary adaptations over time to address changing circumstances and environments.

Today, we observe microevolution happening naturally and through guided human breeding and hybridization. We see this clearly in dogs and cattle. Even though humans have bred dogs to be very diverse, they remain within the canine (Canidae) family and do not evolve into a new order. Many varieties of cattle exist, but they are still cattle. Likewise, fossil evidence of animals transforming into a different class or phylum is lacking.

The best explanation for the incredible diversity of life on this planet, whether in the animal or plant kingdom, is that it was designed by a wise Creator who endowed living things with the ability to adapt and change on a microevolutionary level. The taxonomic ranking of living things seems to occur from the general to the specific rather than from the specific to the general.

Reference: “Unconfirmed” by Hugh Ross in Salvo magazine, summer 2025, pages 38-41

May 19, 2025May 18, 2025

Upside-Down Trees – the Baobabs

Our fourth quarter 2024 printed publication contained an article about the very unusual baobab trees that grow in Madagascar, Africa, and northwest Australia. These “upside-down trees” can live 2,000 years or more and grow to huge sizes. They have a pyramid shape with a large trunk that stores vast amounts of water, but they have no limbs or leaves except at the very top. Baobabs are essential to the lives of bats and birds.

Baobab trees are unusual because they have no genetic connection with gymnosperms like pine trees and modern seed trees like oaks or maples. They are also not related to palm trees, which are not true trees.

One of our followers sent me a letter about the article. She said it brought back memories of her childhood in Rhodesia and the story of the upside-down trees. She wrote:

“My family often camped out in the ‘bush,’ and no matter where we went, there were always baobabs. I must have seen a hundred or more over the years, but I never saw one with leaves and flowers … The Matabele, an African tribe in the Bulawayo area, had a great tale about why the trees look upside down and dead. When the baobabs were created, they were very proud of their size and beauty. They bragged to the other trees and became arrogant and annoying. The gods heard about their boasting, so they turned the baobabs upside down, and what we see are the roots.”

That is an interesting tradition with a great message about pride and boasting. We appreciate that our friend shared it with us. Despite the pagan story explaining the upside-down trees, we know they are not punishment, or an accident created by chance and without purpose. They are part of God’s amazing design for life on this planet.

If you are not on our mailing list and would like to read the article in the Does God Exist? 4th quarter publication, you will find it on our website doesgodexist.org. We also featured these trees in an earlier post on this website.

May 13, 2025May 12, 2025

Questions About Life in Three Categories

Everyone is curious about the things we see in nature. Our posts here and on Facebook often concern animals, plants, and ecosystems. Most people looking at living creatures believe they see design and have questions about life in three categories.

The first category of questions, asked primarily by scientists or the scientifically minded, is, “How does it work?” We want to know how DNA determines the various traits of living things. We are curious about how green plants convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy to power their cells. How does a bat find its prey in the dark? How can an octopus control eight arms independently? The questions are numerous.

The second category is, “What is the purpose?” Atheist scientist Richard Dawkins stops after the “how” question to say, “Biology is the study of things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” But then he makes it very clear that he believes they are not designed and have no purpose. On the other hand, theologians look for a purpose. Since God created the world, He must have a purpose in mind.

Both scientists and theologians ask questions in the third category. They want to know, “How and when did this originate? How did the universe come into being? How did life come from non-living chemicals? When did the first human life originate, and how?” For believers, the Bible gives us basic answers to those questions. However, since the Bible is not a science textbook, it leaves many questions unanswered. That is where science can find answers.

Looking at questions about life in three categories, the third category is very contentious because scientists and believers disagree. I mean that unbelieving scientists disagree with believers and vice versa. But also, scientists disagree with other scientists, and believers disagree with other believers. The curious thing is that in recent years, scientists have resolved some of their disagreements. Those who once insisted that the universe was eternal have been forced to accept the evidence of a cosmic beginning about 13.8 billion years ago.

Believers, however, continue to argue about young-earth and old-earth theology. All believers need to accept the fact that the Bible does not tell us when the universe began or when Adam and Eve lived. As Christians, we must let the Bible speak where it speaks and allow science to speak where it speaks. Of the questions about life in three categories, the most important for believers to examine falls into the second category. “What is the purpose of life?” That is a question the Bible clearly answers. For example, read Romans 12:1-2, Romans 6:22, and Ephesians 3:10-12.

May 7, 2025May 28, 2025

Evidence for Design in Nature

On our websites, we often talk about evidence for design in nature. When average people see the amazingly organized structures in living organisms, they can’t help but feel that they must be designed. Even Richard Dawkins, the evolutionist best known for his worldwide atheism campaign, said that living systems “give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose” (The Blind Watchmaker, page 1). Of course, he adds that it is only an illusion. Atheist Francis Crick, who with James Watson, discovered the helical structure of DNA, warned biologists that they must “constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved” (What Mad Pursuit, page 138).

The intuition of design is nothing new. Plato and Aristotle saw evidence for design in nature and thought there must be a mind behind it. Of course, they could not know about the information-rich DNA molecule and the intricate structures within every living cell. They didn’t even know about cells. Even Charles Darwin thought that cells were just jelly-like protoplasm. He had no idea that there are machines, transportation vehicles, gates, duplicators, inspectors, and trash collectors within the cell wall in a city-like structure.

The more we learn about the inner workings of living things, the more we see design evidence not even imagined in previous years. Every living cell has a DNA molecule containing the instructions for building the proteins and structures required for that living creature. Computer pioneer Bill Gates wrote, “DNA is like a computer program, but far, far more advanced than any software ever created” (The Road Ahead, page 188). Even Richard Dawkins wrote, “The machine code in the genes is uncannily computer-like” (River Out of Eden, page 17).

Is there evidence for design in nature? Let me ask another question. Has any computer program ever created itself by chance, or did an intelligent mind write it? Apply that thought to the living things you see every day.

May 2, 2025May 1, 2025

Programmed to Survive – Self-Preservation Subroutine

HAL was Programmed to Survive with a Self-Preservation Subroutine

Every living organism is programmed to survive. That is a very broad statement, but let me tell you what I mean. On this website, we often describe the way God designed creatures with the defense mechanisms necessary to avoid, evade, or defend against predators. However, they are equipped with more than defense mechanisms. In computer terms, a self-preservation subroutine is programmed into their DNA. Even plants that have no brain or desires have this self-preservation quality. I’m sure you have seen this when you try to get rid of weeds in your lawn or garden.

Where does this self-preservation subroutine come from? Living things are programmed to survive by their Creator. In 1969, I was a college student in Cincinnati when the science fiction movie 2001: A Space Odyssey opened in movie theaters. The movie depicted space travel and “picture phone” communications. Space travel today has still not reached the level shown in the film, but today’s mobile phones make the picture phone booth of the movie seem primitive. I still don’t fully understand the movie’s meaning, but HAL, a computer with a self-preservation subroutine, fascinated me.

HAL 9000 was programmed to survive and refused to allow the human astronaut to disable him. That was the scary part of the movie for me. The concept of an evil computer or robot with artificial intelligence and a self-preservation subroutine endangering humans has become the plot of science fiction thrillers. Those human creations could become a modern Frankenstein’s monster. That terrifying scenario is what many fear AI (artificial intelligence) could lead to.

You can take some comfort in the fact that human programmers have been unable to design a computer program with a self-preservation subroutine. Look around you, and you will see a myriad of living things that are programmed to survive. God has programmed survival software into every living organism, demonstrating that He is far more intelligent than any human computer programmer. God’s wisdom and creative genius programmed all life to survive for a purpose.

February 11, 2025February 9, 2025

Symbiotic Relationships Show Design

A stable ecosystem needs all forms of life to benefit other life forms. When two living things mutually benefit each other, we call it symbiosis. A simple example I see from my window is squirrels gathering acorns that make up a large percentage of their diet. The squirrels bury acorns in various places around the neighborhood and either forget where they buried them or don’t need all the acorns they buried. The result is that oak trees are planted all over the neighborhood. If there were no acorns, the squirrels would starve. If squirrels didn’t plant the acorns over a wide area, the oak trees would be crowded and unable to grow successfully. Squirrels and oak trees are one example of symbiotic relationships.

In the insect world, there are many symbiotic relationships, and some insects have multiple such relationships. The red wood ant is an example. The ants have a symbiotic relationship with aphids, which excrete energy-rich honeydew, which supplies food for the ants. In return, the ants protect the aphids from their enemies.

Another symbiotic relationship is with Eurasian jays. The birds land on an ant mound and allow the ants to crawl on them, spraying their feathers with formic acid. The acid is low enough concentration that it doesn’t harm the birds but is strong enough to kill parasites, including mites, that hide in their feathers. In this way, the jays find protection from mites.

A third symbiotic relationship of red wood ants protects spruce forests by controlling the wood-boring beetles that destroy them. The ants bite the beetles and spray formic acid into their wounds. Killing the beetles protects the spruce trees and provides a home for the aphids that live in them. That takes us back to the ant-aphid symbiosis.

The multiple symbiotic relationships of red wood ants remind us that removing one species may affect many symbiotic relationships. Symbiotic relationships show design. Proverbs 6:6-8 tells us, “Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise. Without leader, administrator, or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest.”

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: The February 2025 issue of National Geographic magazine (pages 110-132) or nationalgeographic.com

January 6, 2025January 5, 2025

Science Has Identified Only Ten Percent of Species

Science Has Identified Only Ten Percent of Living Species

Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know God exists by the evidence we see in the things He has made. That includes the universe and all it contains, most of which we will never see. The evidence most visible to us consists of the plants and animals we encounter in our daily lives. But even in that area, our experience is limited. Those who study living things say that science has identified only ten percent of species.

Evidence that science has much to learn comes from the fact that researchers discovered hundreds of new species in 2024. Scientists connected to the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species, including fish. Those working with the Natural History Museum of London cataloged 190 new species last year. Other scientists working with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, UK, described 149 new species of plants and 23 species of fungi, including a toadstool with teeth.

The creatures discovered and described in 2024 include a vegetarian piranha in Brazil and a moth species in Madagascar that gets its nourishment by drinking the tears of sleeping birds. Four new snake species and four previously unknown rat species became known last year. Botanists working in Indonesia identified five new species of orchids.

How many more animal, plant, and fungus species will scientists identify this year? We don’t know, but since science has identified only ten percent of species, the job is far from complete. Knowing that we have seen only a small portion of God’s creation in space and even on Earth, the evidence for God in the things He has made is massive.

Reference: cnn.com

January 3, 2025January 5, 2025

Heart Cockle Fiber Optics

God has equipped all living things with some method of survival. Research on the heart cockle, a small clam that lives in shallow waters in the Indian and Pacific oceans, has shown that it uses fiber optics to get sunlight through its shell to supply the food it needs.

Heart cockles get their food from algae living within their shells in a symbiotic relationship, benefiting both parties. The algae get sunlight through a crystalline form of calcium carbonate called aragonite arranged in tiny tubes that function like fiber-optic cables. These tubes allow visible light to pass through the cockle’s shell while blocking infrared and ultraviolet light. The algae use the light to produce sugars and other nutrients that benefit the clam while the clam protects the algae within its shell.

According to Science News, the aragonite can channel light without the reflective coatings that telecommunications fiber optics require. While filtering out harmful ultraviolet light, the fiber optic-like structures are “finely tuned to balance the shell’s mechanical strength with its ability to efficiently transmit light.” The “finely tuned” heart cockle shell design had to have a designer, and trying to explain it by chance alone requires a vivid imagination. This is one more evidence that God has designed a vast number of ways for life to survive.

December 27, 2024December 23, 2024

Wildlife in Winter and Conifers

Wildlife in Winter survive because of conifer forests

Winter presents new challenges for all of us, but God has made unique provisions for wildlife in winter. One of the most interesting is the conifers and what they provide for birds.

Winter does not threaten northern birds because all the food and shelter they need is available in four conifers. Berries last through the winter on winterberry holly, Virginia creeper, and trumpet honeysuckle. Cedars have cones and attract insects like carpenter ants that birds eat. Cedar waxwings, golden-crowned kinglets, and pileated woodpeckers thrive on Cedars. Spruce trees have seeds that feed evening grosbeaks, fox sparrows, and juncos. Fir trees provide for nuthatches, chickadees, and spotted owls. Birds can open the cones of white pines to eat the seeds, with nutcrackers and crossbill finches being the most adept.

Conifers exist virtually everywhere on planet Earth, which means bird habitats are available everywhere. The survival of wildlife in winter is possible for birds, other animals, and the plants they depend on. While tropical areas might seem ideal for birds, winter offers freedom from most parasites and provides a host of food and shelter sources. Conifers grow at high elevations and high latitudes where other plants could not exist.

There is amazing diversity everywhere we look on our planet, providing a great testimony to the wisdom and design God has put into His creation. Genesis 8:22 indicates that summer and winter are built into the creation, and Psalms 74:17 tells us God is the creator of summer and winter. As we look outside here in Michigan, we see many birds thriving despite the snow and ice. The survival of wildlife in winter is based on the protection they have from the cold and the food that is readily available to birds in the conifers.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: Audubon magazine for winter, 2024 page 50. Also of interest is audubon.org/plantsforbirds.