Dino Plant

by Dunecraft

Product Features

• Great for Science class.
• Study dormant versus active states.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.5 x 2.3 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B00065IQ6O
• Item model number: DUDP0012
• Manufacturer recommended age: 4 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,699 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #66 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Science > Biology
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Product Description

Watch in amazement as this Prehistoric evergreen springs back to life! Place the dormant specimen in water and in just hours it turns vibrant green as it comes back to life. Can be used over and over again for up to fifty years as it adapts from dormant to active conditions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy To Keep Alive & Impossible To Kill, January 1, 2007

By 

Molly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dino Plant (Toy)

The "dinosaur plant" is a neat little plant. It rests in a clear plastic bowl on top of three volcanic rocks. When watered, within hours it turns into a brownish-greenish living plant. When the water dried up, so does the plant...until you water it again.

The pros involved with this plant are that 1) it can't be killed even if you're forgetful, 2) it's easy to water, 3) it springs back to life very quickly, and 4) it's just cool to have something called a 'dinosaur plant'. In our household, we're so absent-minded about plant watering that we've managed to dehydrate and kill cacti, so a plant that can't die through inattentiveness is great for us. And if you tire of watering it, you can always put it away for weeks or months until you're ready for it again.

There are some downsides though: since the water evaporates so quickly (especially in dry climates), it requires more frequent waterings and more attention than most other houseplants. Also, the dish must be cleaned very regularly, or else the bottom develops a gunky, murky film with sloughed off pieces from the volcanic rocks. And if you don't water it several times a week, while it doesn't die it does curl up into an extremely unattractive dried-up brown blob, which is more of an eyesore than interesting conversation piece.

Overall, I've enjoyed the dinosaur plant but wish it didn't require so much attention for water and cleaning.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ancient history, Now in an easy to understand form!, January 25, 2011

By 

Kage "Lurkin'" (College...) - See all my reviews

= Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dino Plant (Toy)

I bought my dinosoar plant about a month ago, and it has been going strong the entire time!

I Followed the directions on the inside of the box, that say to change the water every day for the first few weeks, and to clean and rinse the plant and bowl regularly. It is a lot more maintenance than people probably expect, but it's a plant, what else could you expect?

It took about 3 hours for the leaves to fully unfurl, but the plant steadily looked better, and less curled as the days passed. Now the plant is all flattened out, and is thriving on my dorm room windowsill.

I wanted a plant in my room, but I have never been able to keep plants. I have even killed cacti. This plant is doing great! I think I am more motivated to care for it because it is interesting, and more of a novelty than anything.

A few positives:

* When moving from home to college, simply placed it alone in a plastic baggie! No water needed :)

* Plant seems to like the "harsh environment" of my dorm room

* My package came with TWO plant bulbs! cool!

A few negatives:

* One of the plant bulbs I got looks like it was cut in half, it is only sprouting leaves from one side, but hey, it is a bonus, so I can't really complain

* In the baggie of stones I got, I got one HUGE chunk, a lot of very small pebble-like chunks, and a large amount of sand :( The big stone looks kinda cool, but it is hard to get the plant to fit right in the bowl with such a large chunk. I went outside and got some regular gravel to fill the extra space. It isn't as neat as the "volcano rock", but it works.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't grow in humid climates, January 15, 2009

By 

Elsfaire (Marietta, GA, USA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dino Plant (Toy)

I thought this would be a great educational Christmas gift for my sons since I thought the plant would be low-maintenance and hard to kill, even if they forgot to water them. The fern did unfold and turn green, which fascinated them. However, even though we rinsed them and changed the water daily, within 3 weeks both plants had developed white mold (FYI, we live in Georgia). We plan to plant them outside in the yard (after I check to make sure that's legal) so the mold doesn't grow in the house. Definitely NOT low-maintenance, and not for homes with high humidity/mold issues.