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).