Discovery could lead to more resilient crops

Secrets that could by used to help develop more efficient crops have been unlocked by scientists at the University of Sheffield.

Lithops, also known as Living Stones, survive in southern Africa by blending in with desert pebbles to avoid being eaten and by burying themselves underground.

Researcher Dr Katie Field said lithops use a sunscreen and move their photosynthetic machinery beneath the soil to avoid sun exposure while maximising photosynthesis through previously unrecorded mechanisms. The research offers new understanding about how plants cope with extreme environments, she said.