It's the Flora, Not the Fauna

Trey Smith

I think it is the epitome of arrogance and pomposity to believe that humankind was created in the image of the Creator -- which is not to say that I believe in the notion OF a creator. These religions and philosophic traditions that place humanity at the top of the "food chain," so to speak, simply rub me the wrong way.

Some scientists -- those dastardly individuals who think about and study phenomena -- have come up with a theory that indicates that Planet Earth and the subsequent life it supports is far more indebted to certain kinds of flora than it is to any kind of fauna.

Astronomers are finding lots of exoplanets that are orbiting stars like the sun, significantly raising the odds that we will find a similar world. But if we do, the chance that the surface of that planet will look like ours is very small, thanks to an unlikely culprit: plants.

We all know how Earth's landscape came about, right? Oceans and land masses formed, mountains rose, and precipitation washed over its surface; rivers weathered bare rock to create soil and plants took root. Well, new research indicates that the last stage of this scenario is not right. Vascular plants — those with structures such as xylem and phloem that can conduct water — are what created the rivers and muds that built the soils that led to forests and farmland.

Maybe we have it all wrong. Maybe it's the vascular plants that were created in "His" image.

And you know what that could mean? Maybe the real Jesus was a sword fern or a giant redwood!