🌱 Check the newly published paper ‘Untangling poikilohydry and desiccation tolerance: evolutionary and macroecological drivers in ferns’ in @annbot.bsky.social by Daniela Aros-Mualin & Michael Kessler🧵(1/8)
👉 https://botany.fyi/a4egtx
#AoBpapers #PlantScience #Ferns
👉 https://botany.fyi/a4egtx
#AoBpapers #PlantScience #Ferns
Comments
🌱 Desiccation tolerance (DT) = The ability to recover normal metabolism after drying and rehydration
These strategies are distinct in ferns, revealing unique ecological drivers. 3/8
- Hymenophyllum-type (H-type): Filmy, stomata-less leaves, extreme poikilohydry, varying DT.
- Pleopeltis-type (P-type): “Resurrection plants” with variable hydroregulation and strong DT. (4/8)
❄️ H-type:
-Emerged during globally cool Icehouse periods.
-Adapted to damp, low-light habitats like shaded forests.
-Found today in wet environments. (5/8)
- Evolved in warm, arid Greenhouse periods.
- Thrives in seasonally dry habitats with periodic droughts. (6/8)
H-type thrives in stable moisture; P-type endures drought, showcasing different paths to survival. (7/8)