Question

What are resurrection plants?

Answer 1

Hint: Plants inhabit almost all of the habitats ranging from lush green rainforests to dryland ecosystems. For survival, the plants develop some adaptations. The water-scarce habitat induces most of the adaptations seen in plants. They usually develop some surly leaves, spikes, or stems and such plants are termed as Resurrection plants.

Complete answer:
Resurrection means coming back to life from the dead. Thus resurrection plants are those that can survive in extreme drought conditions by folding or curling up their leaves or stems parts. And when the suitable moisture conditions arrive, these resurrection plants revive to normal stage meaning getting back to being alive or green again. It is known that transpiration takes place mostly from the surface of the leaves. Also, evaporation is a surface phenomenon. The spread leaves lose more water than the curled up leaves, as more surface area causes water to get easily converted into a vapor state. Therefore, the resurrection plants curl up their leaves during drought conditions so that there will be less or no water loss through transpiration or evaporation. These are the unique desert plant species also known as miraculous plants. They are indeed miraculous as they can survive over $90%$ the loss of their cellular water. They use the protection mechanisms that are used by the seeds to tolerate extreme conditions. These plants can survive dehydration conditions ranging from several days to years. The most common example of a resurrection plant is Rose of Jericho or Anastatica hierochuntica. The resurrection plants generally have a height of around 15 to 35 centimeters and a diameter of around 6 to 10 inches. You can keep them in the dark for years and still can revive them by providing water. The only way by which they are killed is by over-watering them. This will cause them to rot and eventually die.

Note: The resurrection plants are very ancient as they are believed to survive in the Dinosaur's age. Thus, they are also called Dinosaur plants. They are generally brown or grey. They do appear dead but they are just in a dormant state.