Researchers from Canada have been able to revive plants that were entombed during the Little Ice Age that occurred around 400 years ago.

Catherine La Farge, a researcher in the Faculty of Science, and director and curator of the Cryptogamic Herbarium at the University of Alberta and colleagues have now found that plants that were exposed to the Little Ice Age that happened between 1550 and 1850 have survived. Previously, it was believed that any plants growing near these glaciers were modern plants that have invaded the land.

However, researchers at the University used radiocarbon dating to establish that the plants found at the site are between 400 to 600 years old. Some plants at the site were so pristine that they could be re-grown in the lab.

Researchers used 24 subglacial samples for their research. The study team could regenerate from species from these samples.

Bryophytes such as moss and liverwort can stay dormant for many years in arid conditions. Researchers say that their revival can give new insight into the conditions that existed in the region around four centuries ago.

"These simple, efficient plants, which have been around for more than 400 million years, have evolved a unique biology for optimal resilience. Any bryophyte cell can reprogram itself to initiate the development of an entire new plant. This is equivalent to stem cells in faunal systems," La Farge said in a news release.

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Bryophytes are extremophiles that can thrive where other plants don't, hence they play a vital role in the establishment, colonization and maintenance of polar ecosystems. This discovery emphasizes the importance of research that helps us understand the natural world, given how little we still know about polar ecosystems-with applied spinoffs for understanding reclamation that we may never have anticipated," she added.