AbstractThe effects of a 24 h dehydration period on plastid ultrastructure and their starch content have been studied on the leafy gametophyte of a poikilohydrous mossPolytrichum formosumHedw. It has been shown that desiccation induces a swift resorption of the starch grains in the plastids of the meristematic cells of the shoot apex without any major disorganisation of the thylakoids. However starch grains are preserved in the dehydrated tissues of the adult leaves. The starch hydrolysis is continued with a marked increase of the sucrose concentration to this may be attributed an osmoregulatory role in the first stages of the water loss. Upon rehydration the plastid ultrastructure is entirely restored with new starch inclusions appearing in less than 4 h.