Science and Existence of Plant's pairs - The Noble Quran claimed it 1500 years ago!

The following article was taken from http://www.geocities.com/thetruebook/PlantsAndpairs.htm.   May Allah Almighty bless sister Sundus for creating such a wonderful web site.  Because her web site is located in an unstable URL (geocities, angelfire, Xoom, etc...), I decided to copy this page to my site so that it would get preserved permanently.

“(God is the One who) sent down rain from the sky and with it brought forth a variety of plants in pairs [azwajan min nabatin shatta].” {Quran, 20:53}

The above verse informing us about the existence of male and female flowers and plants. lets consider the modern research.

Science and Existence of Plant's pairs

Each individual flower has both male and female parts. (1)

Both male and female trees are usually necessary to produce a crop of fruit. For positive fruiting, both male and female trees should be planted. (2)

Previously, humans did not know that plants too have male and female gender distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender.

(1)  http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets2/landsnurs/feb88pr6.html

(2)  http://www.ces.purdue.edu/gardentips/fruits/persimmons.html

From me, Osama Abdallah:

Here are the contents of sister Sundus' references for easier read:

1-   From http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets2/landsnurs/feb88pr6.html  

Sexes in Ornamental Plants

Contact: Diane Relf, Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture

Posted April 1997

Many ornamental plants are chosen for use because of their colorful fruits. Red holly berries, orange pyracantha berries, and white snowberries are just of few examples of the color that ornamental fruits bring to the garden. These plants are also attractive to birds. Unless the sex characteristics of the plant are known, however, the homeowner may be disappointed because there may be no fruit crop even though bloom occurs.

Many plants have perfect flowers. Roses and viburnums are examples of perfect flowered plants. This means that each individual flower has both male and female parts; stamens, which produce pollen, and a pistil, which contains the ovary(ies) which will produce the seed and hence the fruit. This makes self-fertilization possible.

Monoecious plants are also capable of self-fertilization. Unlike perfect flowered plants, monoecious plants have two types of flowers -- male (staminate) and female (pistillate). Both flower types occur on the same plant. Birches and pines are examples of monoecious plants. In either perfect flowered plants or monoecious plants, pollen is easily carried to the stigma of the same flower or of the female flower of the same plant by insects, birds, or wind.

In dioecious plants, pollination is not so easy. Each plant has only male or only female flowers, so if a particular plant is the only one of its species in an area, pollination is impossible and no fruit will result. Hollies and yews are examples of dioecious plants. In order to ensure a good fruit set on these plants, male and female trees must be grown within a reasonable distance of each other. Although they need not be grown side by side, the closer the male and female plants stand, the better the fruiting which may be expected. One male plant can serve as a pollinator for several female plants. It is also possible in some cases to graft a male branch onto a female plant to enable pollination to occur.

Identification of sexes in dioecious plants is not difficult, though sometimes it may require more than the naked eye to see the tiny flower parts involved. Male flowers lack stigmas or have undeveloped stigmas, and will have stamens. Female flowers have stigmas but not developed stamens. Obviously, a plant with fruit will be a female, but a fruitless plant is not necessarily a male. The plant may be fruitless due to lack of pollen or because environmental conditions were not suitable for pollination. Check the flower structure to be sure of the sex.

Occasionally the sex of dioecious plants is important because a lack of fruit is desired. Fleshy fruit-like ginkgo seeds have an objectionable odor and mulberry fruits can litter the ground. In such cases it may be very useful to plant only male trees, as a female tree could receive pollen from neighboring sources resulting in the undesirable fruit.

(Prepared by Ellen Silva, Program Support Technician, Environmental Horticulture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0327.)

2-   From http://www.ces.purdue.edu/gardentips/fruits/persimmons.html

In the Grow

July 2002

Question and Answer
By: Beverly Shaw, Advanced Master Gardener- Purdue University

Q. I'm having a similar problem with persimmons. A friend gave me two trees about 8 years ago, and they have grown very well -- but no fruit! I check every year for blossoms, but I don't think I see any. I don't understand the "birds and bees" of these plants. Can you help me?

A. The native persimmon is botanically known as Diospyros virginiana. The species is native throughout the lower Midwest and the southeastern states. It is known to be hardy to temperatures of -20-25 F without apparent winter injury. The native persimmon is a small tree, but may often reach a height of 40-50 feet and occasionally even larger under ideal conditions.

The greenish-yellow flowers are borne on very short stalks. The staminate (male) flowers are usually borne in threes, are about one-fourth to one-third inch long, and usually contain 16 stamens. The pistillate (female) flowers are borne singly, ranging one-half to three-fourths inch in length with four two-lobed styles.

The persimmon is dioecious, that is, each tree produces only either male or female flowers. This means that both male and female trees are usually necessary to produce a crop of fruit. The native persimmon is regularly dioecious, with male trees producing only staminate flowers and female trees producing only pistillate flowers. Only in rare instances are trees self-pollinating.

When planting seedling trees, be sure that you have female trees, if fruit is desirable. This can only be proven by fruiting the trees. For positive fruiting, both male and female trees should be planted. The exception is that in the natural range of the persimmon, adequate wild trees will be available for pollination. As an added thought, if the trees are intended for ornamental purposes only, and fruit is not desired, then a male tree might be selected to eliminate the problem and mess of dropping fruit.

It is probably best to obtain budded or grafted trees from a reliable nursery to be sure of getting the type of trees you want and trees with desirable fruit characteristics.

Care of the persimmon is minimal. Fertilization is not usually necessary, other than the fertilization that would normally be given to a lawn. Pruning is not usually needed, except to limit tree size, and to correct faults such as dead or broken limbs.

Again, chances are good that you have two trees of the same gender, or they have not quite reached maturity. It can take 10 or more years for persimmons to begin fruiting, although some will begin much earlier.

The oriental persimmon, Diospyros kaki, is not native to Indiana and is not adapted to Indiana conditions. Hoosier winters are too cold to permit cultivation of this species, except in rare and very protected situations. It is not hardy below about 10 F. This is the species of commerce and is grown commercially in southern areas of California. The fruit ranges to 3 inches across and is seedless in most varieties. Nursery catalogs frequently advertise this species, but Indiana gardeners are cautioned against purchasing plants of D. kaki.

The Overwhelming Scientific Miracles in the Glorious Quran.

The Quran's and Islam's Amazing Prophecies.

Cloning and gender alteration were prophesied in the Glorious Quran!

Of everything pairs are created - Mentioned in the Glorious Quran and confirmed by Science.  Hermaphrodite and Parthenogenesis (asexual, sexless) species, and cloning are covered in great details.

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