These 'Resurrection Plants' Spring Back to Life in Seconds
From Deep Look
3 min2nd3rd4th5thScience
Summary
A resurrection plant can dry to a brittle brown ball, then unfurl and turn green within minutes of getting water. Deep Look reveals how this plant survives drought by shutting down and 'coming back to life.'
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
A resurrection plant survives long dry spells by curling up and going dormant, then rehydrating fast when rain returns. Its structures let it wait out drought that would kill most plants.
- What does a resurrection plant do when there is no water?
- How does it 'come back to life' so quickly?
- Why is this a good survival trick in a dry place?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: dormant, drought, rehydrate, survive.
Try it: Watch a dry sponge swell when you add water. Write how a resurrection plant soaks up water to spring back to life.