Resurrection fern
Pleopeltis polypodioides
Summary 3
Resurrection fern is an epiphyte that grows attached to branches of forest trees and sometimes upon rocks or dry ground. This tiny, creeping fern gets its name because when the weather is dry, resurrection fern turns gray and shrivels up. When it is exposed to water again, it will “come back to life” and look green and healthy. The plant never actually dies during the process, but can lose about 75 percent of its water content during a typical dry period and possibly up to 97 percent in an extreme drought. By contrast, most other plants can only lose 10 percent of their water content before they die. Due to its ability to withstand drought, it can be found in variety of habitats, but it needs a host plant or other substrate on which to anchor. Resurrection fern often favors oak trees. This fern's long thin rhizomes are less than 1/12 in. in diameter, and grow creeping along narrow cracks or in the furrows of the host tree's bark. Along the length of the rhizome the fronds are arranged alternately but tend to become opposite. The leathery, evergreen, yellow-green fronds are 4 to 12 in. long and 1.5 in. wide, and usually widest near the middle, occasionally at or near base. The fronds are made of deeply incised, smaller, oblong to narrowly lanceolate leaflets. The spores are found in clusters, called sori, on the bottom of the blades near the edge, and occur on all but the lowest pinnae of fertile fronds. The sori appear as brown to black scales, and their outline can be seen as raised dimples on the upper surface.
Sources and Credits
- (c) t_kok, all rights reserved
- (c) Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/treegrow/29867587190/
- (c) t_kok, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
Range Map
iNat Map
| Ecosystem | Interior swamps, Interior uplands |
|---|---|
| Leaf arrangement | Alternate, Opposite |
| Leaf shape | Lanceolate, Oblong |
| Leaf type | Pinnately compound |
