/Histological differences in subcellular morphology were also evident between these two populations of M. caffra. In the more mesic Mpumalanga environment, high starch levels were visible in hydrated tissue whereas none were evident in plants from the more xeric Limpopo site. In addition, evidence of a response to water deficit stress, or a memory of such a stress, is notable in that the vacuoles of the plants from Limpopo showed accumulation of electron dense compatible solutes in hydrated conditions. Plants from Limpopo reached a desiccated state after 7 days of dehydration, whereas those from Mpumalanga had reached only ≈30% RWC at this stage. Subcellular organization of the former was well preserved, with little evidence of plasmalemma withdrawal, well defined plasmodesmata, intact organelles, and a densely stained cytoplasm, typical of the desiccated, quiescent state reported for other resurrection angiosperms.