09 April 2013
the wonder plant
This is a Resurrection Plant, also called the Miracle Fern. I'm not sure of the exact scientific name, but after looking stuff up online I think it is Selaginella lepidophylla. My dad bought it for me in a gift shop when we were in Arizona.
Living in the desert but unable to store water in its tissues, the plant dries up into a ball and then unfolds and grows again when moisture is present. So I tried it. I put the dry plant (you can see the little fronds tucked up)
into a shallow dish of water.
Here it is after half an hour:
two hours:
six hours:
seven and a half hours:
Concerned that the plant tissues might get rot from sitting in moisture all day I put it over a bulb vase.
The next day transferred it to a shallow dish of pebbles
and set it outside in the sun.
When the water level dropped in the dish it immediately started to curl up again.
It's so interesting!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I've seen them before and have always been curious about them! Are they gimmick plants or can they live healthy lives?
I think it's a gimmick, now. Mine has lost the green color even though I put it in full sun- which supposedly it likes. It is mostly brown and still unfolds/curls up again according to how much water is in the dish, but I don't think it's actually going to grow.
Post a Comment