Sunday, October 25, 2009

Resurrection Fern

Did I hear someone say enough already with the trees? this is not JUST trees but what grows on them.
If you click on this picture, you can see the dead ferns on the end of the limb.
This is what it looks like after it rains.

Up close shot of a piece of it after the rain. The fern is an air plant, which means it attaches itself to other plants and gets its nutrients from the air and from water and nutrients that collect on the outer surface of bark. This tiny plant has even been taken on a space shuttle mission to watch it resurrect itself in space!


The resurrection fern gets its name because it can survive long periods of drought by curling up and appearing dead. When just a little water is present, the fern will uncurl and reopen, appearing to resurrect. This process is repeated. 2 days after the rain, it looks dead, next rain it turns green.

This fern is a sister to the spanish moss in a previous post. Both live on air, attach to trees and blow through the air to move to other host trees. The difference is this one, changes with the weather.

Resurrection fern is a fascinating plant very common in the Southeast and found from Florida to New York and west to Texas.
What better day to post the Resurrection Fern, than Sunday?
I leave you with this verse for the day
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (New International Version)

8 comments:

Sunny said...

What an interesting plant. Mine tend to look like that only there's no chance of them being resurrected! I really need a green thumb!
Sunny :)

Beverly said...

Those are so great. I have photos of those from the historical park, at least, I think that's what it is.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I have heard of the resurrection plant, but I don't think I've ever seen one. And I didn't know this stuff either! What a wonderful lesson,that we all don't need as much as we think. May I steal it for my Wednesday evening Bible class? I would like to print out a couple of the pictures and tell everyone this story. Great pictures, a good Sunday morning inspiration!!

Unknown said...

The 4th photo looks just like the ferns on the oak tree that I had cut down. Yikeees lets not talk about that. Madam has not forgotten that.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I love them. I haven't seen those before. I am a fan of ferns!!!

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
This is a delightful post - a truly magical plant! YAM xx

eileeninmd said...

They are beautiful ferns! I have seen them in Florida during our travels.

DeniseinVA said...

That’s fascinating, I enjoyed learning about this fern very much.