Life cycle, Rose of Jericho resurrection plant time lapse

Rose of Jericho, resurrection plant.

Filmed by Neil Bromhall for www.rightplants4me.co.uk

The Rose of Jericho is a tumble weed and can be blown over the desert for up to 10 years. This will spread the seeds over a very large area.

When it rains the branches take in water and open. The dead plant seems to be resurrected. The seeds are dispersed by the rain hitting the specially shaped seed pods.

Seeds germinate within a few days. The seeds that fall on poor soil the seedlings will wither and die.

Seeds falling on good soil the seedlings will thrive.

The flowers are pollinated by insects.

Eventually the plant will die and the branches will fold in to form a ball. The winds then blow the tumble weed for miles over the desert until the next heavy rain and the process is repeated.

I originally filmed this sequence for the BBC 'Africa' series. I filmed much of the work again and incorporated unused sections by the BBC.

The time lapse was filmed in my studio in Oxford.

Music: 'Circles of uncertainty' by Oliver Ledbury