Parasites in the Plant Kingdom

When people mention parasites, various things can come to mind. Pet owners may think of white spot disease in tropical fish or fleas and ticks in furry friends, humans can get lice and internal parasites, and so on. Something that surprised this child is the fact that there are many kinds of plant parasites.

Mistletoe image credit: Wikimedia Commons / Pauline Eccles (CC by-SA 2.0)

You don't need to worry about a plant attaching itself to you like a leech, however. Plant parasites parasite plants. That is, it is an "in house" thing in the plant world. They are found in many places and there are numerous species. You can ask a Darwinist how parasitic plants came to be, and they will evosplain with convergent evolution and fact-free speculations. Interestingly, parasitic plants are not a problem for creationists who discuss God's very good creation.

Parasitism is a subject that not many people think about and even fewer address from a biblical perspective. Parasitic plants are even less frequently addressed. Most of us think of plants as stationary and inactive rather than actively seeking nutrients. Yet parasitic plants do exist, comprising about 1% of flowering plants. They are notorious crop pests, particularly in developing countries. Witchweed alone does an estimated three billion dollars of crop damage per year. In light of a perfect pre-fall creation, parasitic plants may appear to be a thorny issue for a biblical worldview. However, digging a little deeper reveals a different, more biblical understanding.

 To continue reading, click on "Parasitic Plants".




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