any of several unrelated desert plants that form a tight ball when dry and unfold and bloom when moistened. The best-known examples are the crucifer Anastatica hierochuntica (also called rose of Jericho), club mosses of the genus Selaginella, and the composite Asteriscus pygmoeus
resurrection plant in American English
US
1.
any of various small plants which curl up when dry and spread their branches or become green again when watered, includingseveral lycopods (genus Selaginella)