ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The Extreme Drought Tolerance Of The Resurrection Fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides)

Updated on May 11, 2012
The Resurrection Fern Pleopeltis polypodioides on the bark of a tree in its dried, crispy state.
The Resurrection Fern Pleopeltis polypodioides on the bark of a tree in its dried, crispy state. | Source
24 hours after some rain, the Resurrection Fern Pleopeltis polypodioides has achieved just that.
24 hours after some rain, the Resurrection Fern Pleopeltis polypodioides has achieved just that. | Source

Common Names: Resurrection Fern, Little Gray Polypod, Miracle Fern, Scaly Polypod
Scientific: Pleopeltis polypodioides
Synnomyns: Polypodium polypodioides
Family: POLYPODIACEAE

We tend to think of ferns as fairly water thirsty plants that are not at all capable of the extreme drought tolerance we more typically associate with cacti and other arid succulents. However the remarkable Resurrection Fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides) bucks this trend as it's the record holder for the plant which can survive the greatest length of time between watering. It has been estimated that this plant could potentially survive up to 100 years without water, however proving this estimate would be a painfully long, multi-generational study, unlikely to be economically feasible.

Pleopeltis polypodioides is a creeping epiphytic plant that grows on the bark of larger trees including oaks and cypress pines. Occasionally it can also be found growing on rotting logs and rocks. It's native range encompasses parts of the Americas, including a large chunk of the Southeastern United States and parts of Africa.

Being an epiphyte, the Resurrection Fern doesn't obtain nutrients from the soil. Instead the plant obtains the nutrients it requires to survive from the surrounding air and water it comes in contact with, as well as any nutrients on the surface of whatever the Resurrection Fern is attached to.

The leaves of the Resurrection Fern have a coarse texture, with each growing about 25 cm (10 inches) long by 5 cm (2 inches) wide. It uses a thin rhizome no thicker than 2mm in diameter to attach to and spread across the surface of the tree, log or rock it calls home.

As you may imagine, living as an epiphyte high up on a tree trunk is quite an exposed existence. As the surface is vertical, rainfall has little chance to sink in and any dampness the tree bark absorbs will quickly dry out. Many other epiphytes such as epiphytic orchids have water-storing succulent leaves to help them tolerate dry spells. The Resurrection Fern does things a little differently.

Pleopeltis polypodioides gained its common name of Resurrection Fern because following drought its curled up, dry, brown leaves can be revived to a plump green state in about a day with the tiniest amount of rain. When the leaves dry they curl up in such a way to maximise their ability to quickly re-hydrate after rain.

Most plants will die once they loose about 8-12% of their moisture. The Resurrection Fern can loose up to an amazing 97% of its moisture and still remain alive, although rarely do they loose more than about 76% in the wild before rainfall cause them to re-hydrate again.

This remarkable fern has one additional claim to fame. Nutty astronauts have taken dried Resurrection Ferns with them on a space shuttle mission just to see if they could resurrect themselves in the absence of gravity, fascinating stuff.


working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)