About Helianthemum squamatum (L.) Pers.
Helianthemum squamatum (L.) Pers. is a low-growing woody herbaceous plant species native to Spain and Algeria. It is the only known plant species that can extract water of crystallization from rock, and through this ability, it can obtain up to 90% of the water it needs from gypsum. Sara Palacio from the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología and Juan Pedro Ferrio from the University of Lleida confirmed this by comparing the isotopic composition of the plant's sap water, the isotopic composition of free soil water, and the water of crystallization contained in gypsum. Their research found that between 70% and 90% of the plant's sap water comes from gypsum during summer months.
