page_title: Xerophyte
section_title: Resurrection plants and seeds
hierarchical_section_title: Xerophyte / Physiological  adaptations / Resurrection plants and seeds
caption_attribution_description: Español: Excelente ejemplar de Chañar
context_page_description: A xerophyte is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert or an ice- or snow-covered region in the Alps or the Arctic. Popular examples of xerophytes are cacti, pineapple and some Gymnosperm plants.
  The structural features and fundamental chemical processes of xerophytes are variously adapted to conserve water, also common to store large quantities of water, during dry periods. Other species are able to survive long periods of extreme dryness or desiccation of their tissues, during which their metabolic activity may effectively shut down. Plants with such morphological and physiological adaptations are xeromorphic. Xerophytes such as cacti are capable of withstanding extended periods of dry conditions as they have deep-spreading roots and capacity to store water. The leaves are waxy and thorny that prevents loss of water and moisture. Even their fleshy stems can store water.
context_section_description: During dry times, resurrection plants look dead, but are actually alive. Some xerophytic plants may stop growing and go dormant, or change the allocation of the products of photosynthesis from growing new leaves to the roots. These plants evolved to be able to coordinately switch off their photosynthetic mechanism without destroying the molecules involved in photosynthesis. When water is available again, these plants would "resurrect from the dead" and resume photosynthesis, even after they had lost more than 80% of their water content. A study has found that the sugar levels in resurrection plants increase when subjected to desiccation. This may be associated with how they survive without sugar production via photosynthesis for a relatively long duration. Some examples of resurrection plants include the Anastatica hierochuntica plant or more commonly known as the Rose of Jericho, as well as one of the most robust plant species in East Africa, Craterostigma pumilum.
  Seeds may be modified to require an excessive amount of water before germinating, so as to ensure a sufficient water supply for the seedling's survival.  An example of this is the California poppy, whose seeds lie dormant during drought and then germinate, grow, flower, and form seeds within four weeks of rainfall.
caption: A Geoffroea decorticans tree is both a winter and drought deciduous tree.
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