Dinosaur Plant Instructions
Dinosaur Plant
Hello, I am the amazing Dinosaur Plant! I am one of the longest-living plants
in the world! My ancestors were around to see the first dinosaurs emerge. At
that time, we grew to over 120 feet, much taller than even a Tyrannosaurus
Rex! The dinosaurs and my relatives were great friends, although they did eat
us occasionally.
When the ice age came, we had to mutate and get really small. We learned
how to blow over dry land and sleep, waiting for water. Usually we drifted
around until we stumbled upon a puddle. Then we drank greedily and went back
to sleep until we found our next "fountain"!
My secret is that I am very easy to care for. I don’t even need to bury my
roots! All I need is a little water and some occasional sleep. With the Brachiosaurus
gone, I’ll be perfectly safe in your home!
Give me some water and I will spring to life in less than one day! Let me
dry out, and I will shrink back to my sleeping state. I can sleep for up to
fifty years and will still rise when you place me in water!
What’s included in your kit
- Clear plastic bowl
- Bag of New Mexico lava rocks
- Dinosaur Plant
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What you’ll need to get
- Cup or glass
- Water
- Sunlight
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Bring me back to life!
- Remove the New Mexico lava rocks from
the bag and place them in the bowl.
- Arrange the rocks in a circle, making
a hole in the center.
- Fill your cup with water, dunk me several
times in the water, and place me in the center of the lava rocks with my
roots down.
- Pour enough water into the bowl to
cover my roots.
- Watch me spring to life and grow right before
your eyes! If you look closely, you may even be able to see me move! Listen,
and you might hear my fibers expanding. I’ll be fully awake in just three
hours.
Put me back to sleep!
To dry me out, simply don’t refill my bowl today and let
the water evaporate. I’ll fall asleep in a week, and you can wake me up again
a few weeks later!
Tips for Caring for Me
- When you bring me back to life, change my water and rinse me every day
for the first few weeks.
- I come back to life best in nearly full sunlight at temperatures of 75
to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, although I prefer to grow in semi-shade.
- I will grow in my bowl of water indefinitely, although I do prefer to a
few naps each year.
- I need a minimal temperature of 40 degrees.
- I like high humidity. But don’t keep me in a terrarium or I may get moldy.
- I will survive in a dry state for up to fifty years, but I prefer to be
re-hydrated every couple of years.
- I may be damaged if I am allowed to dry out in less than six hours or longer
than a week.
Interesting Facts
I,
your Dinosaur Plant:
- am native to Mexico and Texas, chiefly around Big Bend National Park, in
desert and semi-desert regions.
- curl up into a tight ball when dry so that the wind can easily roll me
to a new location, hopefully closer to moisture.
- am sold in Mexican markets for use as a diuretic.
- can survive in a dry habitat where water is available only occasionally.
- need some dry periods which keep me small.
- am used as Christmas decorations.
- turn red-brown or gray-green with age and produce dense tufts.
- grow to be about 4 inches.
- am made into absorptive powder in the pharmaceutical industry.
- have hygroscopic qualities which cause me to curl up when dry and unfold
when moist.
- am an ideal symbol for the coming of life.
- retain 3% of my water when I’m dehydrated.
- am used in fireworks.
- have amazing roots. Although shallow, my root system is very extensive
and my leaves and stems can uptake water directly.
- am very evolved. Although I resemble mosses, I’m considered to be more
evolutionary advanced because I am vascular. That means I have specialized
fluid-conducting tissues, which help me to quickly hydrate myself.
- come from a family of amazing plants. My ancestors were a dominant group
during the Carboniferous period when they grew to be the size of trees and
contributed to the coal deposits, which humans use today for fuel.
- am being researched so that my genes can be transferred into crop plants
such as rice, wheat, and maize to make them more resistant to drought.
