RESTREPIA 



Day^na, Reichb. f . A small plant growing in dense 

 tufts: Ivs. roundish, acute, cordate: dorsal sepal and 

 petals filiform, clavate, shining, violet-brown ; lower 

 sepals united into a broad, bifid blade, yellow and 

 brown. Costa Rica. 



Slegans, Kanst. Tufted, epiphytic. 2-3 in. high: Ivs. 

 1-lJ^ in. long, elliptic: peduncles usuiillr in pairs: Us. 



l%-2 in. long; dorsal sejial rrcri, hni i.tii . whilr, 



streaked purple, with a tail :i- l.nu ' , ■ li is 



clubbed at the tip and yi-ll(>^\ ; hi!- i - ,ii;ile 



into an oblong, emarginale. (-..nrav. Minlr, \,ll.,w, 

 spotted purple; p.tals like the dor- 

 sal sepal, but spreading and ouly 

 half the size; lip half the size of 

 the connate lateral sepals and of 

 tlic same color but edged with red. 

 \ . iR-zuila. B.M. 5U00. F.S. 7:743. 



IIeIXRICH HAS.SELBRIN(.i. 



EESUKRECTION PLANTS are 



great curiosities, because they seem 

 "come to life " after being appar- 

 tly dead. The commonest ones, 

 own in Figs. 2089-92, are mem- 

 rs ut riir mustard family and the 

 il. mo., iiiiiiily. Others are As- 

 ti.iiis, a i-oiiiyiosite, and Meseui- 

 yaiiil], mum. of the flg-niarigold 

 mily. Tliese are described below. 

 1. The Rose of Jeric 

 ehuntica, Linn., whicli 

 from Jericho." The plant is a native of the sandy deserts 

 from Arabia and Syria to Algeria. It is an annual and 

 grows about 6 inches high. Soon aftir ric.mring the 



leaves fall off and the branches 1. m.- w.H.dy and 



roll up into a ball, reminding one of wiiki i-\v.irk or 

 lattice. Inside the ball are the s. •,,]., ,„■. in iM.tanical 

 language, the fruits, wlii.li aio i ,i i , ,,, a protected 

 position near the tips of ii i mclies. The 



plants are then uprooted i- ml are blown 



about on the deserts. Thoso ii.ni- \\ ■ m itMniu'lit by many 

 to be "the rolling thing be fore liie w Iniiuiinl "mentioned 

 in Isaiah, and were brought to Europe by the crusaders. 

 The shape of these balls might be fancifully compared 

 to that of an unopened rose. When the winter rains 

 descend or when the balls are blown into the mediter- 

 ranean the branches at once open ba.k an.l stretchout 

 straight, the fruits open, and the scids i^. nniriiit, very 

 quickly, "often in the fruit," accor.iiim to \\;iiniing. 

 The dead plants do not, of course, "••omr to life." but 

 they retain their hygroscopic properties for many years. 

 They may be dried and wetted alternately many times. 

 The vitality of the seed is doubtless considerable, but it 

 is a question whether there is any good scientific record 

 on this point. The balls are often sold by fakirs and 

 dealers in novelties and attempts are often made to 

 grow the plants at home. 



Botanically, Anastatica is highly distinct by reason of 

 its short and broad fruit or silicle, which has 2 ear-like 

 appendages at the top. The silicle is divided by a 

 transverse partition into 2 cells, each of which contains 

 a seed. There is only one species. The genus belongs 

 to the Arabis tribe of the Cruciferje, but is exceptional in 

 not having a long, slender silicle. The growing plant 

 has obovate Ivs., the lower ones entire, upper ones 



RESURRECTION PLANTS 



1507 



2090. Rose of Jericho as it opens after being 



toothed, and the fls. are small, white and borne in 

 spikes in midsummer. Excellent pictures of Resur 

 rection Plants may be found in Kemer and Oliver's 



"Natural History of Plants," together with reliable 

 accounts of the behavior of the various kinds. See also 

 B.M. 4400. 6.0.1872:1068. Gn.4,p. 111. These plants 

 have much folk-lore. 



2. The Bird's-nest Moss, Selaginella lepidophylla, is 

 a native of Mexico and reaches into western Texas. 



2091 Bird s Nest Moss dried into a tight ball 



11 cnil UT if allowed to dr^ ind 



Many Selagi 

 several of tl 



make a ti„l 

 lukewarm 

 positi u I 



3 A St 

 family i 

 range as ^ 

 crusaders 



^(»*Jf^^^ 



/A 



,^<vs>^ 



volucre closes o% er the head of fruit during the dry sea- 

 son, and is loosened by moisture ^^hen the seeds escape. 

 The genus is referred by Bentham and Hooker to Odon- 

 tospernium '^ec Pig 2nP't 



4. Se\enl sj ,.< i,.s , f ^f, ^. mliryanthemnm are known 

 to be h^gi I liiu' to Kemer and Oliver, 



"the cip^t'l ' plants remain closed in 



dr> we ith i i t thev .are moistened the 



valves cm. I II il i n I sutuies of the fruit-loculi 



open li It k .1( liis( t ill I tikis place along the ventral 

 sutnifs ind the seeds, hitherto retained in a double 

 shroud are washed out of the loculi by the rain." It is 

 doubtful whether these capsules are offered in the trade. 

 W. M. 



Anastatica is occasionally grown for curiosity or for 

 botanical purposes, but the plant is anything but orna- 

 mental. The undersigned has often grown it for classes 

 in botany, sowing the seed in February in pots and 

 keeping the plants in pots all summer. Bottom heat is 

 not necessary at any stage, at least in America. The 



