Resurrection plant explained

A resurrection plant is any poikilohydric plant that can survive extreme dehydration, even over months or years.

Examples include:

• Anastatica hierochuntica, also known as the Rose of Jericho, a plant species native to deserts of North Africa
• Asteriscus (plant);^[1]
• Dorcoceras hygrometrica,^[2]
• Craterostigma, members of the Linderniaceae/Scrophulariaceae with snapdragon-like flowers
• Haberlea rhodopensis
• Lichen, a symbiosis that can survive extreme desiccation,^[3]
• Mesembryanthemum, the plant can revive within a short period of time after a drought
• Myrothamnus flabellifolius, a plant species native to Southern Africa
• Pleopeltis polypodioides, also known as resurrection fern
• Ramonda serbica, a species in the family Gesneriaceae
• Selaginella lepidophylla, a plant species native to North America, Central and South America, and sold as a novelty
• Tillandsia
• Xerophyta, a monocotyledonous genus of 57 species^[4] typically occurring on rock outcrops in Southern African grasslands

Certain resurrection plants have long been sold in their dry, "lifeless" form as curiosities. This custom was noted by many 19th-century authors, and continues today.

In December, 2015, resurrection plants were featured in a TED talk given by Professor Jill Farrant,^[5] Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, South Africa, who performs targeted genetic modification of crop plants to make them tolerate desiccation by activating genes that are already there but not natively expressed in response to drought.^[6]

See also

• Dehydration
• Cryptobiosis
• Anhydrobiosis
• Hygrochasy

Notes and References

1. Book: The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. Liberty Hyde Bailey. The Macmillan company . 1916 . 5 . 2920–2921; 3639 .
2. Zhang . T. . Fang . Y. . Wang . X. . Deng . X. . Zhang . X. . Hu . S. . Yu . J. . Badger . Jonathan H . The Complete Chloroplast and Mitochondrial Genome Sequences of Boea hygrometrica: Insights into the Evolution of Plant Organellar Genomes . 10.1371/journal.pone.0030531 . PLOS ONE . 7 . 1 . e30531 . 2012 . 22291979. 3264610 . 2012PLoSO...730531Z . free .
3. Web site: Resurrection Plant . Faculty.ucc.edu . 2012-01-30.
4. Web site: Plants of the World Online . Xerophyta Juss. . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . 25 May 2024 .
5. Web site: TED Speaker: Jill Farrant . TED.com . 2016-01-21.
6. Web site: TED Talk: How we can make crops survive without water . TED.com . 2016-01-21.