Holly leaves and holly berries are everywhere this time of
year. Holly’s an evergreen: a symbol of eternal life. The scarlet berries
symbolize the blood Christ shed for us, and the spiny leaves stand for His
crown of thorns. Several of our British neighbors had European holly in their
gardens. I noticed the very tall trees had smooth, elliptical leaves up top,
while the lower branches had vicious, spikey leaves. I wondered if the smooth
leaves might be some kind of herbaceous parasite. As it happens, I was
witnessing an example of heterophylly: the ability of some plants to simultaneously
develop different types of leaves. Nearer the ground, where animals might munch
(or school children may molest), the sharp leaves threaten anyone getting too
close. Up higher, gentler leaves grow out of reach. It’s actually a molecular
response to being damaged. If you could change your DNA when threatened, what
would you become? Me, I’d be a bear.
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