Cryptobiosis or anabiosis is a metabolic state of life entered by an organism in response to adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, freezing, and oxygen deficiency. In the cryptobiotic state, all measurable metabolic processes stop, preventing reproduction, development, and repair. When environmental conditions return to being hospitable, the organism will return to its metabolic state of life as it was prior to the cryptobiosis.
A resurrection plant is any poikilohydric plant that can survive extreme dehydration, even over months or years.
Velloziaceae is a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. The APG II system, of 2003, also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Pandanales.
Selaginella lepidophylla is a species of desert plant in the spikemoss family (Selaginellaceae). Known as a "resurrection plant", S. lepidophylla is renowned for its ability to survive almost complete desiccation. Resurrection plants are vascular rooted plants capable of surviving extreme desiccation, then resuming normal metabolic activity upon rehydration. The plant's hydro-responsive movements are governed by stem moisture content, tissue properties and a graded distribution of lignified cells affecting concentric stem stiffness and spiraling. During dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball, uncurling only when exposed to moisture.
Anticlea elegans, formerly Zigadenus elegans, is also known as mountain deathcamas, elegant camas or alkali grass. It is not a grass, but belongs to the trillium family, Melanthiaceae.
Ramonda serbica, also known as Serbian ramonda and Serbian phoenix flower, is a species in the family Gesneriaceae. It is one of the few European representatives of this family, found in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia and Serbia. The flower was discovered by Serbian botanist Josif Pančić in 1874 near Niš. It is known for its ability to be revived when watered, even when fully dehydrated, also known as a Desiccation plant. In Serbia it is used as a symbol of Armistice Day in World War I.
Cistus salviifolius, common names sage-leaved rock-rose, salvia cistus or Gallipoli rose, is a shrub of the family Cistaceae.
Brodiaea elegans is a species of flowering plant in the cluster-lily genus known by the common names harvest brodiaea, elegant brodiaea, and elegant cluster-lily.
Calochortus elegans is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name elegant Mariposa lily, cat's ear, elegant cat's ears or star tulip. It is native to the western United States from northern California to Montana.
Cypella is a genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the family Iridaceae. It is distributed in South America, from Peru and Brazil to Northern Argentina. The genus name is likely derived from the Greek word kyphella, meaning "hollow of the ear", and alludes to the shape of the inner tepals.
Echeveria elegans, the Mexican snow ball, Mexican gem or white Mexican rose is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to semi-desert habitats in Mexico.
Crassula elegans, the elegant crassula, is a flowering plant species in the genus Crassula.
Xerophyta retinervis is a deciduous perennial up to 2 metres tall with stout, erect stems, densely covered in persistent, fibrous leaf bases, often charred and blackened by veldfires. Fragrant flowers appear after fire or rain, and are blue or mauve, or rarely white. The small capsules are covered in rough hairs and are loculicidally dehiscent, releasing numerous small, black angled seeds about 2 mm long. The species is tolerant of extreme conditions such as drought, fire, and low temperatures. The old leaf bases are arranged so that rainwater is funnelled down and to the core, where it is absorbed by densely packed roots that run the entire length of the stem. Strap-shaped leaves occur in tufts along stems.
Xerophyta scabrida is a plant species in the genus Xerophyta found in Africa. It is a poikilochlorophyllous plant which is desiccation tolerant.
Hymenophyllum tunbrigense, the Tunbridge filmy fern or Tunbridge filmy-fern, is a small, fragile perennial leptosporangiate fern which forms large dense colonies of overlapping leaves from creeping rhizomes. The common name derives from the leaves which are very thin, only a single cell thick, and translucent, giving the appearance of a wet film. The evergreen fronds are bipinnatifid, deeply and irregularly dissected, about 3 to 6 cm long, 2 cm across with dark winged stipes. In contrast to the similar H. wilsonii the fronds are more divided, flattened, appressed to the substrate and tend to have a bluish tint.
Cattleya × elegans is a hybrid orchid in the subtribe Laeliinae. It is a pseudobulb epiphyte. Its formula hybridae is Cattleya purpurata Van den Berg (2008) × Cattleya tigrina A.Rich. (1848). It is found in South and South-East Brazil.
Chuniophoeniceae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of plant family Arecaceae. The four genera within the tribe are morphologically dissimilar and do not have overlapping distributions. Three of the genera are monotypic, while the fourth genus (Chuniophoenix) has three species.
Bryum elegans is a species of mosses in the family Bryaceae. It is found in Norway, Poland, and the Russian Federation.
Bessera elegans, also known by the common name coral drops, is a cormous herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, from Mexico.
Polytrichastrum formosum, commonly known as the bank haircap moss, is a species of moss belonging to the family Polytrichaceae.
