Question

What are resurrection plants?

Answer 1

The meaning of the term resurrection is coming back to life after death. These resurrection plants have many medicinal uses. These plants also work as poisons for some animals like cats and dogs.

Complete answer:
A resurrection plant is the type of plant that can survive the condition of drought and extreme heat even for months or for several years. They can survive in extreme dehydration and drought conditions. They remain alive as they tolerate the extreme dehydration caused by the drought. These plants are different from cactus as cactus can not tolerate the dehydration and they become resistant to the dehydration. In the dry season, the water of the resurrection plants comes to an end very fast so they put the life on hold until the rainy seasons start again. So, they can live even in dry conditions. These organisms are found on the shores of the muddy lakes which have a certain limit of water and an unlimited source of sunlight.
The resurrection plants have a great impact on medicine. They are considered to have a secondary compound which helps in the treatment of cancers, bacterial and fungal diseases. There is one compound that is taken from these plants: quercetin which is antioxidant and can help to prevent the growth of cancer cells.

Note: The desiccated state of the resurrection plants helps the seed embryo to survive the periods of cold, drought, extreme heat etc. The common examples of resurrection plants are Asteriscus, Haberlea rhodopensis etc.