# Pleopeltis
**Pleopeltis** is a genus of ferns in the family [Polypodiaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/polypodiaceae), comprising about 96 accepted species of mostly epiphytic or rock-growing plants distributed across the New World, Africa, the [Arabian Peninsula](https://www.edgepedia.org/arabian-peninsula), India, and Sri Lanka.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2) Its best-known member is the resurrection fern, *Pleopeltis polypodioides* (L.) E.G.Andrews & Windham, which survives the loss of about 95% of its cellular water and resumes full metabolic activity within a few hours of rehydration.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2) • [2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Taxonomy | Family Polypodiaceae, order Polypodiales; genus first published in *Species Plantarum*, ed. 4, 5: 211 (1810)[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2) |
| Species count | 96 accepted species, plus several named hybrids[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2) |
| Distribution | Native to the New World, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and Sri Lanka; recorded as extinct in Mauritius[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2) |
| Defining character | Peltate (shield-shaped) scales on the leaf blades, the genus' key character in phylogenetic studies[3](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19435610/) |
| Desiccation tolerance | *P. polypodioides* tolerates loss of 95% of cellular water and regains full metabolic activity within hours of rehydration[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/) |
| Water relations | Stipe xylem turgor loss point of −1.35 (±0.31 sd) MPa; cavitation in the stipe may act as a hydraulic fuse protecting the rhizome[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8566288/) |
| Heat response | Dried fronds of *P. polypodioides* tolerate heat better than hydrated fronds[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/) |
## Taxonomy and circumscription
The genus was first published in 1810 by Humboldt, Bonpland, and Willdenow.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2) Its limits were long unsettled: morphological, cytological, and gene-sequencing studies showed that *Pleopeltis* required redefinition to include other polypod genera and species bearing peltate scales on the leaf blades, including species formerly placed in *Polypodium* subg.[5](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291101057_Pleopeltis_Polypodiaceae_a_redefinition_of_the_genus_and_nomenclatural_novelties) A 2009 phylogenetic study of *Pleopeltis* and related Neotropical genera concluded that the generic concept should be reconsidered, with peltate laminar scales as the genus' key character.[3](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19435610/) Kew's Plants of the World Online currently accepts 96 species, among them *P. polypodioides*, *P. michauxiana*, *P. pleopeltifolia*, and *P. macrocarpa*, together with a number of named hybrids such as *Pleopeltis × albornoziana*.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2)
The type species of the resurrection-fern group, *P. polypodioides*, was first christened *Acrostichum polypodioides* by Linnaeus and retained that epithet as it moved between genera; it was placed in *Pleopeltis* in 1993, segregated from *Polypodium* in part because of its scales.[6](https://www.nargs.org/sites/default/files/free-rgq-downloads/VOL_64_NO_4.pdf) A North American variant is treated as *Pleopeltis michauxiana* (formerly *P. polypodioides* var. *michauxiana*), whose epithet honors the French royal botanist André Michaux (1746–1802).[7](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pleopeltis-michauxiana/)
## Distribution and habitat
The genus is native to a vast range spanning the Americas from the United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and many other states) through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, as well as sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and neighboring islands, the Arabian Peninsula including Socotra and Yemen, India, and Sri Lanka.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2) Species grow as epiphytes, on rock, or rarely terrestrially.[8](https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000030272) In the southeastern United States, resurrection fern grows on tree trunks and limbs, rock outcrops, and rotten wood, and is suggested as an accent plant in shaded rock or woodland gardens.[9](https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B987-2)
## Desiccation tolerance in the resurrection fern
*Pleopeltis polypodioides* is a classical resurrection plant: its vegetative tissues sustain desiccation and recover without conspicuous injury, tolerating repeated drying and rehydration cycles.[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/) • [10](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29803130/) In response to dehydration, the ventral surface of the frond curls inward while the dorsal surface, covered with peltate scales, remains exposed; such folding is thought to defend against photooxidation.[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/)
**Peltate scales.** The shield-like trichomes on the lower (abaxial) frond surface, made of cellulose and lipids, are central to the fern's drought strategy.[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8566288/) [Microscopy](https://www.edgepedia.org/microscopy) and staining studies showed that these dorsal scales assist in water distribution and controlled desiccation, contributing directly to the plant's extreme drought tolerance.[11](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27928638/)
**Hydraulic behavior.** During dry-downs the fronds lose most of their water; after 24 hours of dehydration the average relative water content was 14.1% (±7.26 sd).[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8566288/) The stipe xylem is highly vulnerable, with a turgor loss point of −1.35 (±0.31 sd) MPa, and cavitation in the stipe may act as a "hydraulic fuse": by cutting off the evaporative surface of the pinnae, the rhizome conserves water until a precipitation event allows new growth.[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8566288/) Recovery of photosynthetic activity after desiccation occurs whether or not the frond remains connected to the rhizome, while the xylem stays embolized; fronds can continue to photosynthesize given high relative humidity and a surface film of water supporting foliar water uptake, which may allow spore production to continue.[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8566288/) This dependence on arboreal substrates with variable moisture suggests that desiccation tolerance in epiphytic ferns operates differently from that in terrestrial, xeric ferns.[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8566288/)
**Biochemistry and signaling.** The drought tolerance mechanism appears independent of abscisic acid (ABA): ABA content decreases during extended dehydration and the stomata are insensitive to ABA, although ABA rises rapidly after the onset of dehydration.[12](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36896495/) ABA is likely synthesized in the fronds rather than supplied by roots, consistent with the fronds' strong water uptake capacity and their metabolic independence from the rhizome.[13](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/ajb2.16152) [Dehydration](https://www.edgepedia.org/dehydration) also induces stress-signaling molecules such as hydroperoxide and glutathione oxidase.[13](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/ajb2.16152)
## Heat stress and desiccation
Experimental work on *P. polypodioides* compared dry and hydrated fronds exposed to elevated temperatures, assessing photosynthesis, stress molecules, antioxidative enzyme activity, membrane stability, and fatty acid profiles.[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/) The oxidative and antioxidative systems proved sensitive to heat regardless of hydration state, but dried fronds tolerated heat better than hydrated ones.[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/) Hydrated fronds showed discoloration after exposure to 35 °C and above, and re-hydrated fronds after exposure above 55 °C, indicating stress beyond thermal tolerance leading to chloroplast or chlorophyll degradation, senescence, and programmed cell death.[14](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.597731/full) [Desiccation](https://www.edgepedia.org/desiccation) therefore mitigates heat stress in this species, a pattern consistent with the broader finding that non-vascular and vascular plants show increased thermotolerance after desiccation.[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/)
## Poikilohydry versus desiccation tolerance
Fern research distinguishes two adaptations often conflated: poikilohydry, the inability to internally regulate water content, and desiccation tolerance (DT), the ability to restore normal metabolism upon rehydration.[15](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39344981/) A recent classification separates ferns into two syndromes: the *Hymenophyllum*-type, filmy-leaved species lacking stomata that experience extreme poikilohydry with varying degrees of DT, and the *Pleopeltis*-type, resurrection plants with variable hydroregulation but high DT.[15](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39344981/) *P. polypodioides* and closely related species are classical desiccation-tolerant plants sometimes labeled poikilohydric despite exerting more precise control over leaf water status than bryophytes do.[16](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11688535/)
## Ecology and human interest
The resurrection fern is among the more widely distributed ferns of the Americas, occurring in the United States, Mexico, the [West Indies](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-indies), Central America, South America, and southern Africa.[6](https://www.nargs.org/sites/default/files/free-rgq-downloads/VOL_64_NO_4.pdf) Its common name reflects the visible transition from a withered, seemingly dead state during drought to a healthy green plant after rainfall.[7](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pleopeltis-michauxiana/) No medicinal uses are recorded for the species.[17](https://gulfspecimen.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GSML-Nature-Trail-Plants_compressed-1.pdf)
## References
1. [Pleopeltis Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd., Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A330085-2)
2. [Desiccation Mitigates Heat Stress in the Resurrection Fern, Pleopeltis polypodioides, Frontiers in Plant Science (2020)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7733933/)
3. [Otto, E.M. et al. (2009). New insights into the phylogeny of Pleopeltis and related Neotropical genera (Polypodiaceae, Polypodiopsida), Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19435610/)
4. [Desiccation and rehydration dynamics in the epiphytic resurrection fern Pleopeltis polypodioides, PMC (2021)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8566288/)
5. [Pleopeltis (Polypodiaceae), a redefinition of the genus and nomenclatural novelties](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291101057_Pleopeltis_Polypodiaceae_a_redefinition_of_the_genus_and_nomenclatural_novelties)
6. [Plant Portraits, North American Rock Garden Society Quarterly, Vol. 64 No. 4](https://www.nargs.org/sites/default/files/free-rgq-downloads/VOL_64_NO_4.pdf)
7. [Pleopeltis michauxiana, North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pleopeltis-michauxiana/)
8. [Pleopeltis Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd., World Flora Online](https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000030272)
9. [Native Plants for Georgia Part II: Ferns, UGA Cooperative Extension Bulletin 987-2](https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B987-2)
10. [John, S.P. & Hasenstein, K.H. (2018). Biochemical responses of the desiccation-tolerant resurrection fern Pleopeltis polypodioides to dehydration and rehydration, Journal of Plant Physiology](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29803130/)
11. [John, S.P. & Hasenstein, K.H. (2017). The role of peltate scales in desiccation tolerance of Pleopeltis polypodioides, Planta 245(1): 207–220](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27928638/)
12. [Changes in endogenous abscisic acid and stomata of the resurrection fern, Pleopeltis polypodioides, in response to de- and rehydration (2023)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36896495/)
13. [Changes in endogenous abscisic acid and stomata of the resurrection fern (full text), American Journal of Botany](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/ajb2.16152)
14. [Desiccation Mitigates Heat Stress in the Resurrection Fern, Pleopeltis polypodioides, Frontiers in Plant Science (full text)](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.597731/full)
15. [Untangling poikilohydry and desiccation tolerance: evolutionary and macroecological drivers in ferns, Annals of Botany (2024)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39344981/)
16. [Untangling poikilohydry and desiccation tolerance in ferns (full text), PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11688535/)
17. [GSML Nature Trail Plants, Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory](https://gulfspecimen.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GSML-Nature-Trail-Plants_compressed-1.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Ferns and lycophytes › Polypod fern families › Polypodiaceae and Polypodium › Pleopeltis and resurrection fern*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license