23. Wallace's Selaginella

To most people, Wallace's Selaginella  (Selaginella wallecei) looks like a moss.  In reality, it is more closely related to ferns than it is to mosses, and, like ferns, produces spores directly from the mature plant.  Like many of our local mosses that grow on dry rock outcrops it has an amazing capacity for surviving being dried out.  While the species isn't very well known,  people may know Selaginella lepidophylla , or Resurrection plant, which is sometimes sold in nurseries as a curiosity - coming to life quickly after watering from a seemingly dead plant.  While Wallace's Selaginella isn't as showy as the Resurrection Plant, its ability to turn green and start growing after being baked dry by the summer is just as remarkable.  For a clip of a "resurrecting" Selaginella go to  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMiQpjRQZP4

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