The Rose of Jericho actually refers to two completely different plants from opposite sides of the world. The “true” Rose of Jericho (Anastatica hierochuntica) is native to the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa, while the “false” Rose of Jericho (Selaginella lepidophylla) comes from the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico and the southwestern United States. Both earned the same common name because they share one extraordinary trick: they curl into a dry, dead-looking ball during drought and unfurl back to life when water returns.
The True Rose of Jericho: Middle East and North Africa
Anastatica hierochuntica is the original plant behind the name. It belongs to the mustard family (Brassicaceae) and grows as a small annual across a vast stretch of arid land. According to Kew Gardens’ botanical records, its native range extends from the Canary Islands and the western Sahara all the way through North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, reaching as far east as southern Iran and southwestern Pakistan. Specific countries include Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine.
This plant thrives in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. In the Negev Desert of southern Israel, one of its native habitats, annual rainfall can be as low as 25 millimeters and temperatures swing from a scorching 47°C down to below freezing. The soil is often salty and nutrient-poor. These pressures pushed Anastatica hierochuntica to develop remarkable survival strategies, including the ability to dry out completely, curl its branches inward to protect its seeds, and wait (sometimes for years) until the next rain.
The name “Rose of Jericho” ties directly to the ancient city of Jericho in the Jordan Valley, where the plant grows wild in surrounding desert areas. For centuries, Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land brought dried specimens home as souvenirs. The plant’s ability to appear dead and then “come back to life” in water made it a powerful symbol of resurrection. Dried Rose of Jericho plants are still sold in souvenir shops in Jerusalem’s Old City and in Bethlehem today.
The False Rose of Jericho: Mexico and the American Southwest
Selaginella lepidophylla is the plant most people actually encounter when they buy a “Rose of Jericho” online or in a shop. It’s native to the Chihuahuan Desert, which spans northern Mexico and crosses into Texas and New Mexico. Unlike the true Rose of Jericho, which is a flowering plant in the mustard family, this species is a spikemoss, a more primitive type of plant that reproduces with spores rather than seeds.
The false Rose of Jericho is arguably even more dramatic in its survival abilities. When drought hits, it can lose up to 97 percent of its normal water content, curling into a tight brown ball that looks entirely dead. It detaches from the soil and tumbles across the desert floor like a tumbleweed, dispersing spores as it goes. When it encounters moisture again, it rehydrates and opens back up. This cycle can repeat many times over the life of the plant.
Because it’s inexpensive to harvest and ships easily as a dried ball, Selaginella lepidophylla became the commercially dominant version of the Rose of Jericho. If you’ve purchased one to place in a bowl of water and watch it open, this is almost certainly the species you have.
How They Survive Without Water
Both plants are classified as “resurrection plants,” a small group of species worldwide that can tolerate near-total desiccation and recover. The key to this ability lies in cellular chemistry. As these plants dry out, they produce a sugar called trehalose, which acts like a biological glass. Trehalose stabilizes cell membranes and proteins, preventing the kind of irreversible damage that kills most plants when they lose water. Research published in PLOS Genetics found that trehalose accumulation also triggers a cellular cleanup process, removing toxic byproducts of dehydration and recycling nutrients to keep cells viable during dormancy.
The true Rose of Jericho uses a slightly different strategy than the false one. As an annual plant, it completes its life cycle in one season and dies. What curls and uncurls is actually the dead skeleton of the plant, which opens when wet to release seeds. So the “resurrection” is mechanical, not biological. The false Rose of Jericho, by contrast, is genuinely alive in its dried state. Its cells remain dormant but functional, and it resumes active photosynthesis after rehydrating.
What Happens When You Add Water
If you place a dried Rose of Jericho (either species) in a shallow bowl of water, it begins to unfurl within hours. Most of the transformation happens over the first 24 hours. With Selaginella lepidophylla, you may see green returning to the inner fronds, especially if the plant was recently alive before being dried for sale. Older or more heavily processed specimens may open up but stay brown, since the cells have been dead too long to recover.
For the true Rose of Jericho, the opening is purely a physical response to moisture. The dried branches absorb water and spread apart, but no living tissue regenerates. If seeds are still trapped inside, they may germinate in the right conditions, producing tiny new plants.
Why the Two Plants Get Confused
The naming confusion is almost entirely a product of the commercial plant trade. Both plants look similar when dried: small, brown, curled-up balls roughly the size of a fist. Both perform the same crowd-pleasing trick of opening in water. Sellers rarely distinguish between the two, and the name “Rose of Jericho” has become a catch-all for any resurrection plant sold as a novelty or spiritual item.
If origin matters to you, the simplest way to tell them apart is structure. The true Rose of Jericho (from the Middle East) has woody, branching stems that look like a tiny dried shrub. The false Rose of Jericho (from Mexico) has flat, scale-like leaves arranged in fern-like fronds that spiral inward from the edges. The false version also tends to be greener when hydrated, since its tissues can actually come back to life.
Wild Harvesting Concerns
The popularity of resurrection plants has created pressure on wild populations. Research from the American Society for Horticultural Science has documented sharp population declines in related Selaginella species due to overexploitation for the ornamental and medicinal plant trades. Scientists have called for in vitro propagation methods to produce plants commercially without stripping them from their native habitats. No formal international protections currently exist for either species, but the scale of wild harvesting, particularly of Selaginella lepidophylla from the Chihuahuan Desert, remains a concern among botanists.