The pink Jericho, Selaginella lepidophylla, is a little surprising plant which has developed a strategy to resist drought. When it is dry, it goes dormant: it closes, takes the form of a ball, and seems dead. But, as soon as it is rehydrated, it unfolds completely and returns to colors, like a flower that flourishes! It gives the impression of being dead, then reborn as soon as it comes into contact with the water, which gives it its name of " Plant of the Resurrection ".
It grows spontaneously in the Chihuahuan desert, on the border between Mexico and the United States. This explains its adaptation to drought.
The rose of Jericho is very close to the ferns! It does not produce flowers or seeds, but spores. It takes the form of a flattened rosette, with branches that leave the center and radiate outwards. She does not carry real leaves, but small scales.
WHERE TO PLANT THE ROSE OF JERICHO?
The rose of Jericho is a frosty plant, to protect from the cold! You can grow it in a greenhouse, porch, or in a room freezing and bright, away from direct sunlight.
As soon as it is rehydrated, the Rose of Jericho opens and regains color! (photo Fabrizio Cortesi)
HOW TO CULTIVATE IT?
You can rehydrate your Jericho rose as follows:
1.Simply place your dried plant on a saucer filled with fresh water (or little limestone). In the space of a few minutes, she comes back to life and begins to blossom. Leave her a few days in her saucer.
2.You can then keep it open by placing it in a terrarium, for example, to maintain a high humidity level, or give it a rest period, which can range from one to several months without water. Do not expose it to direct sunlight.
3.To keep it longer, place it in a pot :
4.prepare a suitable, very draining, acidic and light substrate, mixing heather earth, sand and pozzolan. Choose a shallow pot, then fill it with a substrate and install the plant.
5.Place it in a bright location, with no direct sun, preferably at a temperature between 20 and 25 ° C. She fears temperatures too cold, below 5 ° C.
6.Absolutely avoid excess water that could make it rot. Give it a dormant period of a few months, during which you let it dry.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that another plant is called "Rose of Jericho"? This is Anastatica hierochuntica, a small plant of the family Brassicaceae, native to North Africa, which also has the ability to dry out and fold back in case of drought, to deploy when it is moistened.