What is "selaginella lepidophylla"

Resurrection \Res`ur*rec"tion\, n. [F. r['e]surrection, L. resurrectio, fr. resurgere, resurrectum, to rise again; pref. re- re- + surgere to rise. See Source.]

1. A rising again; the resumption of vigor.

2. Especially, the rising again from the dead; the resumption of life by the dead; as, the resurrection of Jesus Christ; the general resurrection of all the dead at the Day of Judgment.

   Nor after resurrection shall he stay Longer on earth.
   --Milton.

3. State of being risen from the dead; future state.

   In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage.
   --Matt. xxii. 30.

4. The cause or exemplar of a rising from the dead.

   I am the resurrection, and the life.
   --John xi. 2

5. Cross of the resurrection, a slender cross with a pennant floating from the junction of the bars.

   Resurrection plant (Bot.), a name given to several species of Selaginella (as Selaginella convoluta and Selaginella lepidophylla), flowerless plants which, when dry, close up so as to resemble a bird's nest, but revive and expand again when moistened. The name is sometimes also given to the rose of Jericho. See under Rose.

Selaginella lepidophylla (syn. Lycopodium lepidophyllum) is a species of desert plant in the spikemoss family ( Selaginellaceae). S. lepidophylla is noted for its ability to survive almost complete desiccation; during dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball and uncurl only when exposed to moisture. The outer stems of Selaginella lepidophylla bend into circular rings in a relatively short period of desiccation, whereas inner stems curl slowly into spirals due to the hydro-actuated strain gradient along their length. It is native to the Chihuahuan Desert.

Common names for this plant include flower of stone, false rose of Jericho, rose of Jericho, resurrection plant, resurrection moss, dinosaur plant, siempre viva, stone flower, and doradilla.

Selaginella lepidophylla is easily confused with Anastatica: both species are resurrection plants and form tumbleweeds, and they share the common name "rose of Jericho".