Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Extreme Plant Defies Hot Volcanic Environment
Campylopus pyriformis. Image courtesy of Hermann Schachner, public domain.
Joel Kontinen
When it comes to defying heat, the dwarf swan-neck moss (Campylopus pyriformis) is the plant kingdom’s extreme champion.
Introduced to us in a paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, it can thrive in a volcanic environment where the temperature rises to 72°C.
Some animals and plants can survive in almost impossible conditions.
But as far as we know, only on Earth.
This reminds us of both Creation and the Fall.
Source:
Ceurstemont, Sandrine. 2017. Extreme plants thrive at 72°C in New Zealand’s hot volcanic soil. New Scientist (9 June).