Israel Survivor Plant

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings,

From ICEJ of 3-18-05:

RESEARCHERS DISCOVER UNIQUE CELLS OF ISRAELI 'SURVIVOR' FLOWER

Desert bloom boasts Star of David cell structure

Extracted from article by Leora Eren Frucht - Israel21c

It's known as the ultimate survivor. It grows wild in Israel, thriving in the harsh dry conditions that would kill many other plants. And what do the cells of this hardy survivor - a native Israeli Persian buttercup - look like under a microscope? A Star of David.

"It really is symbolic," says Dr. Rina Kamenetsky, a researcher at Israel's Volcani Institute, who made the surprising discovery while trying to understand the survival mechanisms of this resilient bulb, known in Latin as Ranunculus asiaticus.

The flower from the Holy Land is also known in botanical circles as a type of 'resurrection plant' which, explains Kamenetsky, means that it can live without water, and is 'resurrected' when water becomes available.

It turns out that the cell walls of the storage roots of this particular plant serve as a shield. In winter, when the first rain comes, the cell walls block the sudden influx of water which could cause the cells to burst. At the same time, they protect the cells from dehydration by absorbing water.

The cell walls that serve as a year-round shield also happen to look like a shield - the shield of David.

"We have never before seen a structure like this in the cell walls of plants," Kamenetsky says. "This is a very rare structure - maybe even unique."

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Reprinted Courtesy of Israeli21c - A Focus Beyond the Conflict

If you do a Google search for this it will give you the Israeli21c web site that has more information.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie