Resurrection plant

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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]

References

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

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