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Gesneriaceae
Ramonda
Ramonda myconi
Resurrection and survival against odds.
- Family
- Gesneriaceae
- Genus
- Ramonda
- Native to
- Pyrenees Mountains, southern Europe
- Bloom season
- Late Spring
- Type
- evergreen rosette perennial
- Height
- 5–12 cm
- Sunlight
- part shade
- Soil
- rocky, calcareous, well-drained crevices
- Water
- low; tolerates extreme desiccation
- Hardiness
- 5–8
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Ramonda is a 'resurrection plant' — it can dry to a crisp brown and fully revive when watered.
- It is a Tertiary relict, a living fossil that survived the Ice Ages in sheltered Pyrenean cliffs.
- The genus is named after Louis Ramond de Carbonnières, a pioneering Pyrenean botanist and explorer.
- It is closely related to African violets, a surprising link between the Pyrenees and tropical Africa.
- Ramonda can withstand losing up to 95% of its water content and resume photosynthesis within hours of rehydration.
Color meanings
Violet
miraculous revival