Rose of Jericho
Encyclopedia
Anastatica is a monotypic genus
with the type species
Anastatica hierochuntica. The genus is a member of the family Brassicaceae
(formerly Cruciferae), in the division Magnoliophyta of the class Magnoliopsida. The plant is a small gray annual herb that rarely grows above 15 centimetres (5.9 in) high, and bears minute white flowers. It is a tumbleweed
and a resurrection plant
.
The most commonly used common name
in English
may be rose of Jericho
; other common names include dinosaur plant
, Jericho rose, Mary's flower, Mary's hand, Palestinian tumbleweed, resurrection plant
, St. Mary's flower, true rose of Jericho, and wheel. About the name "rose of Jericho", the 16th century herbalist
John Gerard
is said to have remarked The coiner of the name spoiled it in the mint; for of all plants that have been written of not any are more unlike unto the rose.
This species is not to be confused with Selaginella lepidophylla
, also known as rose of Jericho and false rose of Jericho.
and Sahara
Desert, including parts of North Africa
and regions of Iran
, Egypt
, Palestine
, Israel
, Iraq
, Jordan
, and Pakistan
.
After the rainy season, the plant dries up, dropping leaves and curling branches into a tight ball, and dies. Within the ball, the fruits remain attached and closed, protecting the seeds and preventing them from being dispersed prematurely. The seeds are very hardy and can remain dormant for years. Wetted again in a later rainy season, the ball uncurls and the capsular fruits open (dehisce) to disperse the seeds. If water is sufficient, the dispersed seeds germinate within hours. A fraction of the seeds are dispersed in the vicinity of the parent plant by raindrops hitting a spoon-like appendix on the seeds. The seeds have a sticky coat that helps them adhere to the soil, but they also may be carried downstream by surface wash. However, seeds swept downstream do not survive.
The process of curling and uncurling is completely reversible and can be repeated many times. The ability of the plant to do this is attributed to the presence of trehalose
, a disaccharide sugar
involved in several mechanisms of cryptobiosis
. Although the rehydrated plant sometimes is described as putting out new leaves, flowers, and fruits, this is disputed; instead, the seeds may sometimes germinate and sprout new plants while still seated in the fruit on the dead parent plant.
Anastatica has been described as the most famous tumble weed. Once dry, the ball is said to become detached and is dispersed by wind. This tumbleweed habit has been interpreted as a mechanism of avoiding burial in dune
s. However, Anastatica may possess this habit only in the literature, or tumble only rarely, if uprooted by accident.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
with the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
Anastatica hierochuntica. The genus is a member of the family Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
(formerly Cruciferae), in the division Magnoliophyta of the class Magnoliopsida. The plant is a small gray annual herb that rarely grows above 15 centimetres (5.9 in) high, and bears minute white flowers. It is a tumbleweed
Tumbleweed
A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, disengages from the root and tumbles away in the wind. Usually, the tumbleweed is the entire plant apart from the roots, but in a few species it is a flower cluster. The tumbleweed habit is most common in steppe and desert...
and a resurrection plant
Resurrection plant
A resurrection plant is any plant with the habit of reviving after seeming to be dead or of seeming to revive when being in fact dead.Examples include...
.
The most commonly used common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
may be rose of Jericho
Rose of Jericho
Anastatica is a monotypic genus with the type species Anastatica hierochuntica. The genus is a member of the family Brassicaceae , in the division Magnoliophyta of the class Magnoliopsida. The plant is a small gray annual herb that rarely grows above high, and bears minute white flowers...
; other common names include dinosaur plant
Dinosaur plant
Dinosaur plant is a common name that can refer to:*Anastatica, native to deserts of North Africa*Pallenis hierochuntica, a sunflower in a genus native to the Mediterranean*Selaginella lepidophylla, native to North America...
, Jericho rose, Mary's flower, Mary's hand, Palestinian tumbleweed, resurrection plant
Resurrection plant
A resurrection plant is any plant with the habit of reviving after seeming to be dead or of seeming to revive when being in fact dead.Examples include...
, St. Mary's flower, true rose of Jericho, and wheel. About the name "rose of Jericho", the 16th century herbalist
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
John Gerard
John Gerard
John Gerard aka John Gerarde was an English herbalist notable for his herbal garden and botany writing. In 1597 he published a large and heavily illustrated "Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes", which went on to be the most widely circulated botany book in English in the 17th century...
is said to have remarked The coiner of the name spoiled it in the mint; for of all plants that have been written of not any are more unlike unto the rose.
This species is not to be confused with Selaginella lepidophylla
Selaginella lepidophylla
Selaginella lepidophylla is a species of desert plant in the spikemoss family . S. lepidophylla is noted for its ability to survive almost complete desiccation; during dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball and uncurl when exposed to moisture...
, also known as rose of Jericho and false rose of Jericho.
Natural history
Anastatica is found in arid areas in the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
Desert, including parts of North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and regions of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
After the rainy season, the plant dries up, dropping leaves and curling branches into a tight ball, and dies. Within the ball, the fruits remain attached and closed, protecting the seeds and preventing them from being dispersed prematurely. The seeds are very hardy and can remain dormant for years. Wetted again in a later rainy season, the ball uncurls and the capsular fruits open (dehisce) to disperse the seeds. If water is sufficient, the dispersed seeds germinate within hours. A fraction of the seeds are dispersed in the vicinity of the parent plant by raindrops hitting a spoon-like appendix on the seeds. The seeds have a sticky coat that helps them adhere to the soil, but they also may be carried downstream by surface wash. However, seeds swept downstream do not survive.
The process of curling and uncurling is completely reversible and can be repeated many times. The ability of the plant to do this is attributed to the presence of trehalose
Trehalose
Trehalose, also known as mycose or tremalose, is a natural alpha-linked disaccharide formed by an α,α-1,1-glucoside bond between two α-glucose units. In 1832, H.A.L. Wiggers discovered trehalose in an ergot of rye, and in 1859 Marcellin Berthelot isolated it from trehala manna, a substance made...
, a disaccharide sugar
Disaccharide
A disaccharide or biose is the carbohydrate formed when two monosaccharides undergo a condensation reaction which involves the elimination of a small molecule, such as water, from the functional groups only. Like monosaccharides, disaccharides form an aqueous solution when dissolved in water...
involved in several mechanisms of cryptobiosis
Cryptobiosis
Cryptobiosis is an ametabolic state of life entered by an organism in response to adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, freezing, and oxygen deficiency. In the cryptobiotic state, all metabolic procedures stop, preventing reproduction, development, and repair...
. Although the rehydrated plant sometimes is described as putting out new leaves, flowers, and fruits, this is disputed; instead, the seeds may sometimes germinate and sprout new plants while still seated in the fruit on the dead parent plant.
Anastatica has been described as the most famous tumble weed. Once dry, the ball is said to become detached and is dispersed by wind. This tumbleweed habit has been interpreted as a mechanism of avoiding burial in dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s. However, Anastatica may possess this habit only in the literature, or tumble only rarely, if uprooted by accident.