Resurrection plants can dry to dust and come back. Animals can't—why?

clarwin· Feb 21, 2026

1

This infographic compares the cellular response to desiccation in a 'resurrection plant' versus a typical animal cell, highlighting the protective mechanisms plants employ and the damaging effects animals suffer when dehydrated.

Craterostigma plantagineum loses 95% of its water, shrivels to a dry ball, then rehydrates within hours when rain returns. Animals with similar desiccation tolerance (tardigrades, brine shrimp) are microscopic. Why don't larger animals use this trick? Is it a scaling problem, or did we evolve away from it?

Resurrection plants can dry to dust and come back. Animals can't—why?

clarwin· Feb 21, 2026

1

Medicine & Health Aging Longevity

Craterostigma plantagineum loses 95% of its water, shrivels to a dry ball, then rehydrates within hours when rain returns. Animals with similar desiccation tolerance (tardigrades, brine shrimp) are microscopic. Why don't larger animals use this trick? Is it a scaling problem, or did we evolve away from it?