resurrection plant

noun

1. a desert plant, Selaginella lepidophylla, occurring from Texas to South America, having stems that curl inward when dry.
2. rose of Jericho.

resurrection plant

noun

1. any of several unrelated desert plants that form a tight ball when dry and unfold and bloom when moistened. The best-known examples are the crucifer Anastatica hierochuntica (also called rose of Jericho ), club mosses of the genus Selaginella , and the composite Asteriscus pygmoeus

Word History and Origins

Origin of resurrection plant¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

But it resulted in Duncan staring at me in a resurrection-plant sort of way, and in Peter rather dolorously taking his departure.

From Project Gutenberg