# Resurrection plant

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A '''resurrection plant''' is a plant that can survive extreme dehydration of its vegetative tissues and resume normal metabolic activity upon rehydration. These plants exhibit [desiccation tolerance](/source/desiccation_tolerance) and are often described as [poikilohydric](/source/poikilohydry), allowing them to lose more than 90% of their cellular water while remaining viable for extended periods, sometimes months or years.<ref name="Oliver2020">{{cite journal |last1=Oliver |first1=Melvin J. |last2=Farrant |first2=Jill M. |last3=Hilhorst |first3=Henk W. M. |last4=Mundree |first4=Sagadevan |last5=Williams |first5=Brett |last6=Bewley |first6=J. Derek |title=Desiccation tolerance: Avoiding cellular damage during drying and rehydration |journal=Annual Review of Plant Biology |year=2020 |volume=71 |pages=435–460 |doi=10.1146/annurev-arplant-071219-105542 |pmid=32040342}}</ref><ref name="EnserinkScience">{{cite journal |last=Enserink |first=Martin |title=Playing dead |journal=Science |year=2026 |volume=391 |issue=6792 |pages=1312–1315|doi=10.1126/science.znozssc}}</ref>
[[File:Rose of Jericho.gif|thumb|right|The resurrection plant ''[Selaginella lepidophylla](/source/Selaginella_lepidophylla)'' reviving within 3 hours after the addition of water.]]

Resurrection plants occur across multiple evolutionary lineages, including [ferns](/source/ferns), [lycophytes](/source/lycophytes), and [flowering plants](/source/flowering_plants); this suggests [convergent evolution](/source/convergent_evolution) under strong environmental [selection pressures](/source/selection_pressures).<ref name="Oliver2020" /> These plants represent a rare adaptation distinct from drought tolerance.<ref name="Porembski2011">{{cite book |last=Porembski |first=Stefan |chapter=Evolution, diversity, and habitats of poikilohydrous vascular plants |editor-last=Lüttge |editor-first=Ulrich |editor2-last=Beck |editor2-first=Erwin |editor3-last=Bartels |editor3-first=Dorothea |title=Plant Desiccation Tolerance |series=Ecological Studies |volume=215 |isbn=978-3-642-19105-3 |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |year=2011 |pages=139–158 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-19106-0_8}}</ref> Unlike [seeds](/source/seeds) or [spores](/source/spores), which are commonly desiccation-tolerant, resurrection plants retain this ability in fully developed vegetative tissues.<ref name="Oliver2020" />

==Mechanisms of desiccation tolerance==
Desiccation tolerance is common in seeds but rare in the vegetative tissues of most land plants.<ref name="Oliver2020" /> Resurrection plants undergo extensive physiological and molecular changes during dehydration, including the shutdown of [metabolism](/source/metabolism) and [photosynthesis](/source/photosynthesis).<ref name="EnserinkScience" />

Cellular structures are stabilized through the accumulation of sugars such as sucrose and raffinose, which replace water and form glass-like matrices that preserve membranes and proteins.<ref name="Oliver2020" /><ref name="Bartels2011" /><ref name="EnserinkScience" /> Protective proteins, including [molecular chaperones](/source/molecular_chaperones) and [late embryogenesis abundant (LEA)](/source/Late_embryogenesis_abundant_proteins) proteins, help maintain the structure of macromolecules during drying and rehydration.<ref name="Bartels2011" /> Antioxidant systems are also activated to mitigate damage from [reactive oxygen species](/source/reactive_oxygen_species) generated during stress.<ref name="Oliver2020" /><ref name="Bartels2011">{{cite book |last1=Bartels |first1=Dorothea |last2=Hussain |first2=S. S. |chapter=Resurrection plants: Physiology and molecular biology |editor-last=Lüttge |editor-first=Ulrich |editor2-last=Beck |editor2-first=Erwin |editor3-last=Bartels |editor3-first=Dorothea |title=Plant Desiccation Tolerance |series=Ecological Studies |volume=215 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-19105-3 |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |year=2011 |pages=339–364 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-19106-0_16}}</ref>

Many resurrection plants degrade chlorophyll and dismantle the photosynthetic apparatus during dehydration to avoid photooxidative damage, rebuilding these systems after rehydration.<ref name="EnserinkScience" /><ref name="Bartels2011" /> These coordinated responses allow cells to survive in a near-complete absence of cellular water and rapidly resume function when rehydrated.

==Distribution and diversity==
Approximately 1,300 species of resurrection plants have been identified, spanning mosses, ferns, and angiosperms.<ref name="EnserinkScience" /> Resurrection plants are often associated with habitats characterized by intermittent water availability and rapid drying cycles.<ref name="Porembski2011" /> They are typically found in arid and semi-arid environments, particularly on exposed rock outcrops with shallow soils.<ref name="Porembski2011" /> Southern Africa is considered a global center of diversity for resurrection plants.<ref name="Porembski2011" /><ref name="EnserinkScience" /> 

==Examples==
Examples include:
*''[Asplenium ceterach](/source/Asplenium_ceterach)''<ref name=Živković-2010>{{Cite journal  | title = Dehydration-related changes of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activity in fronds of the resurrection fern ''Asplenium Ceterach'' L.   | year = 2010  | author = Suzana Živković  | journal = Arch. Biol. Sci. | pages = 1071–1081  | volume = 62  | issue = 4 | doi = 10.2298/ABS1004071Z | doi-access = free}}</ref>
* [''Asteriscus'' (plant)](/source/Asteriscus_(plant));<ref name="Bailey1916">{{cite book|title=The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture|author=Liberty Hyde Bailey|publisher=The Macmillan company |year=1916 |volume=5 |pages=2920–2921; 3639 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EpMDAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA2920
}}</ref>
* ''[Dorcoceras](/source/Dorcoceras) hygrometrica'',<ref name=Zhang2012>{{Cite journal | last1 = Zhang | first1 = T. | last2 = Fang | first2 = Y. | last3 = Wang | first3 = X. | last4 = Deng | first4 = X. | last5 = Zhang | first5 = X. | last6 = Hu | first6 = S. | last7 = Yu | first7 = J. | editor1-last = Badger | editor1-first = Jonathan H | title = The Complete Chloroplast and Mitochondrial Genome Sequences of Boea hygrometrica: Insights into the Evolution of Plant Organellar Genomes | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0030531 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | article-number = e30531 | year = 2012 | pmid =  22291979| pmc =3264610 | bibcode = 2012PLoSO...730531Z | doi-access = free }}</ref>
* ''[Craterostigma](/source/Craterostigma)'', members of the Linderniaceae/Scrophulariaceae with snapdragon-like flowers
* ''[Haberlea rhodopensis](/source/Haberlea_rhodopensis)''
* ''[Mesembryanthemum](/source/Mesembryanthemum)'', the plant can revive within a short period of time after a drought 
* ''[Myrothamnus flabellifolius](/source/Myrothamnus_flabellifolius)'', a plant species native to Southern Africa
* ''[Pleopeltis polypodioides](/source/Pleopeltis_polypodioides)'', also known as resurrection fern
* ''[Ramonda serbica](/source/Ramonda_serbica)'', a species in the family Gesneriaceae
* ''[Selaginella lepidophylla](/source/Selaginella_lepidophylla)'', a plant species native to North America, Central and South America, and sold as a novelty
* ''[Tillandsia](/source/Tillandsia)''
* ''[Xerophyta](/source/Xerophyta)'', a [monocotyledonous](/source/Monocotyledon) genus of 57 species<ref name=POWO>{{cite web|work=Plants of the World Online |title=Xerophyta Juss. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1681-1 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=25 May 2024 }}</ref> typically occurring on rock outcrops in Southern African grasslands

Certain resurrection plants, particularly ''[Selaginella lepidophylla](/source/Selaginella_lepidophylla)'', have long been sold in their desiccated, dormant form as curiosities, reviving when exposed to water. This practice was noted in 19th-century botanical literature and continues today.<ref name="Bailey1916" />

==Potential applications==
The mechanisms underlying desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants have attracted interest for improving drought and desiccation tolerance in crop species.<ref name="EnserinkScience" /><ref name="Oliver2020" /> Research efforts have included attempts to transfer or activate desiccation tolerance pathways in crop plants, including work led by [Jill Farrant](/source/Jill_Farrant) on identifying regulatory mechanisms that enable vegetative tissues to survive dehydration.<ref name="EnserinkScience" /> Early public discussion of this approach was highlighted in a 2015 [TED talk](/source/TED_(conference)) by Farrant.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_farrant_how_we_can_make_crops_survive_without_water |title=How we can make crops survive without water |publisher=TED |date=2016-01-19 |access-date=2016-01-21}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Dehydration](/source/Dehydration)
* [Cryptobiosis](/source/Cryptobiosis)
* [Anhydrobiosis](/source/Anhydrobiosis)
* [Hygrochasy](/source/Hygrochasy)

==References==
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Resurrection plant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_plant) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_plant?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.