The reason why some people cannot comprehend the miracles of creation in the terrestrial flowers is their being accustomed to seeing them around everyday. However, when one sets aside the accustomed way of thinking and considers the water lilies that grow in extraordinary habitats under extraordinary conditions, he will witness Allah’s flawless artistry of Creation.
The Amazon water lilies growing in the mud covering the depths of Amazon River are capable of unveiling people’s “accustomend way of thinking” about the signs of Creation, for they survive under unusual conditions.
These flowers begin growing in the swamp at the bottom of the Amazon River and then reach to the water surface. Their goal is to reach the light upon which they are depend to survive. When they reach the water surface they cease growing and form circular spiky buds. Only in a matter of two hours, these buds turn into gigantic leaves, each one of which reach almost two meters in length. Water lilies act as if they “know” that the more space they cover on the water surface the more they will avail from the sunlight. This way, for photosynthesis they can benefit abundantly from the sunshine. They also “know” that they will not be able to continue their existence with insufficient light at the bottom of the river. The fact that a plant can employ such a "smart" strategy is definitely thought-provoking.
The Creation miracle of water lilies
No doubt, sunlight is of vital importance for the Amazon water lilies. However, they also need oxygen to survive for they do not have the oxygen they need in the swampy region where their roots grow.
The plants in lakes, sea sides, salty waters and swamps with high salt content experience almost the same difficulties as the desert plants. However, the plants living in such regions are created with features that enable them to adapt themselves to their environmental conditions. The leaves and trunks of aquatic plants are created with special designs so that they can live under water. For example, the plants living in salty waters have thick and coriaceous leaves similar to those of desert plants, rendering them capable of storing ample amounts of water and protecting them against the harms of excess water.
Such plants survive, thanks to their leaves on the water surface. These leaves float on the water by means of the special textures filled with air under their leaves. The Giant Amazon Water Lily is one of these plants having such kind of leaves.
All of the plant roots around the water or wet soils are covered with water. In that case a question occurs to minds; "How will the plant breathe?" Like other plants aquatic plants have the most appropriate features in order to fit in their environment. The tissue that allows aquatic plants such as water lilies to exchange gasses between the roots and leaves is the aerenchyma. The air pockets of those textures have an expansive characteristic.1 Water lilies extend their stems upwards, towards the water surface. These stems, sometimes extending up to 11 meters, bind to the leaves and serve as a channel that transfer oxygen between the leaves and the root.2
How does a bud that has just begun its life under the depths of a river know that its needs oxygen and light and that it cannot survive without them and that the elements it needs to survive exist over the water? A living being that has just begun its life is aware of neither the existence of the surface, nor of the sun or oxygen. No doubt, this admirable miracle happens with the inspiration of All-Mighty Allah, Who has infinite mercy and power.
The struggle for life continues…
The life struggles of the Amazon Water Lilies continue after they reach the light and oxygen above surface. They bend their huge leaves in order not to be filled with water and submerge.
They survive, thanks to all these precautions; however, they are almost aware that they need more to produce offsprings. They need another living being, the beetle, to carry their pollens to another water lily, for beetles are attracted by the white color. Consequently, they choose the snow white Amazon Water Lilies among all other attractive flowers to perch. The Amazon Water Lilies imprison their guests by closing all their leaves when their guests and serve them plenty of pollens. The next night, they release their imprisoners and change their colors so that the beetles do not bring their own pollens back to them. These magnificent water lilies that used to be snow white begin to decorate the Amazon River in rose-pink color.
No doubt all these successive finely-tuned plans are not the works of a bud that is not aware of its surroundings, but of the All-Mighty Allah Who created them all. All details outlined here show that like any other beings in the universe our Lord created the plants and equipped them with the most appropriate systems. Allah relates this fact in the Qur’an as follows:
Allah is He Who created seven Firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them (all) descends His Command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends, all things in (His) Knowledge. (Surat at-Talaq -12)
1. The Great Larousse Dictionary and Encyclopedia, 2nd Volume, page. 5734.