The Resurrection Plant

Unfolding of Selaginella lepidophylla when watered; time span 3 hours (image from Wikimedia Commons)
Unfolding of Selaginella lepidophylla when watered; time span 3 hours (image from Wikimedia Commons)

15 November 2015

On the way to somewhere else I found …

A desert plant that curls into a ball and “hibernates” during dry weather, then revives at the touch of water.

You’ll never see this plant in Pennsylvania unless you buy one as a novelty item to wow your friends.

Selaginella lepidophylla is a spikemoss native to the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico and the southwestern U.S. with many common names including false rose of Jericho, rose of Jericho, resurrection plant, resurrection moss, and doradilla.  Its resurrection ability is similar to the real Rose of Jericho, Anastatica, native to the Middle East and Sahara.

How long does it take this plant to revive?  The photos were snapped at five minute intervals over a period of three hours.

I stumbled upon this animation while searching for photos of Lycopodium because a second (synonymous) scientific name for the resurrection plant is Lycopodium lepidophyllum

Who knew!

(image from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to see the original)

3 thoughts on “The Resurrection Plant

    1. Yes! We had those! Have you heard of 5 O’ Clocks? They close themselves up to go to “Sleep” each night 🙂

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