When Selaginella curls into a ball

Selaginella movement

Drying makes Selaginella’s foliage curve inward. 🌿 A plant can change its whole form as moisture leaves.

Selaginella movement

In S. convoluta, the inward-curving foliage rolls the plant into its characteristic ball-like form. 🌿

Selaginella movement

Cooke’s explanation is mechanical, not conscious behavior: adjoining tissues expand or contract unequally as they gain or lose moisture. ⚙️

Selaginella movement

When moisture returns, S. lepidophylla expands again, earning the name “Resurrection plant.” 🌿

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