The seeds of many plants can sprout even after lying dormant in a dry place for many years. There have been instances where they have germinated after “sleeping” for hundreds or even thousands of years. Nature has equipped seeds with this remarkable ability. But can plants maintain their vitality in adverse conditions?
One of the most resilient survivors is the cactus—a plant that thrives in the scorching heat of deserts.
Once, a gardener placed pieces of cactus on a shelf covered with canvas. A few days later, he returned to that shelf, astonished. The cactus pads had rooted through the canvas and the gaps in the boards, stretching toward the ground, which was nearly five feet below.
To test the cactus’s vitality, he tied one of the pads with twine to a tree branch, leaving it suspended in the air for six years and eight months. The pads, deprived of nourishment, wilted and turned brown. The gardener assumed the cactus was dead. However, when he planted one of the pads in the soil, it bloomed just a few weeks later!