DailyGood: Giant Water Lily: Nature's Hidden Designs

Daily Good News: a service of CharityFocus

What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning
--Werner Heisenberg

Fact of the Day:
In still or slowly-moving waters there is one easy way to collect light: a plant can float its leaves upon the surface. No plant does this on a more spectacular scale than the giant Amazon water-lily. First surfacing as a simple bud, within a few hours, it bursts open and starts to spread. Expanding at the rate of half a square yard in a single day, the leaf grows until it is six feet across and stays afloat with special air-spaces within. On the underside, it glows a rich purple color. [ more ]