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)
Have you ever heard of a sensitive plant? They close their leaves up in seconds when touched. Different thing going on, but still an interesting plant that not everyone has heard of. Mom used to have one in her kitchen window.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLTcVNyOhUc
Yes! We had those! Have you heard of 5 O’ Clocks? They close themselves up to go to “Sleep” each night 🙂
Wow! Nature is amazing. Thanks for sharing this, Kate.