A new study by an international team has found that the Syntrichia caninervis species of moss survives in the desert by collecting water from the air through tiny groove-filled hairs on the ends of its leaves.
A new study by researchers from Utah State University, Brigham Young University, and Chinese Academy of Sciences describes the fairly unusual way a species of moss called Syntrichia caninervis, or S. caninervis, survives in the desert.
Instead of drawing water up from the ground through its roots as many cacti and other plants do, S. caninervis takes moisture in from the air through its leaves, reports New Scientist.
The scientists calls this system “upside-down water collection.”
As the study notes, each leaf collects moisture but also contains a hair which can react to atmospheric humidity, fog, and raindrops.
Researchers found that each hair, or awn, actually contains tiny grooves to collect the different forms of hydration; once the accumulated droplets grow big enough, they eventually slide toward the body of the plant.
A video shot through an environmental scanning electron microscope shows the leave’s translucent hairs, which measure in length from 0.5 to 2 millimeters, in action.
Scientists believe the study could be helpful in building "novel water collection systems."
