Welwitschia
Welwitschia (Welwitschia mirabilis) is a bizarre desert plant of the Namib Desert in Namibia and Angola. It has only two leaves, which grow continuously throughout its life, and individuals can live for well over a thousand years.
Welwitschia (Welwitschia mirabilis) is a bizarre desert plant of the Namib Desert in Namibia and Angola. It has only two leaves, which grow continuously throughout its life, and individuals can live for well over a thousand years.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Welwitschia in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Diaphoretickes lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Two Leaves for a Lifetime
The strap-shaped leaves grow from the base and are shredded into ribbons by wind and abrasion at the tips. A short, woody trunk and a very long taproot support the plant. Welwitschia is a gnetophyte, a small group of gymnosperms with odd features.
Drinking Fog
Rain in the Namib may not fall for years, but fog drifts inland from the cold Atlantic. The leaves collect moisture from fog and the roots reach deep water. The plant uses a water-saving form of photosynthesis (CAM). See Photosynthesis.
An Old Puzzle
Gnetophytes share some features with flowering plants, such as vessels in the wood, and their exact relationship to the other seed plants has been debated. Some plants are estimated at 1,500 years old.
Welwitschia at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Welwitschia mirabilis |
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Gnetophyta |
| Class | Gnetopsida |
| Order | Welwitschiales |
| Family | Welwitschiaceae |
| Field Guide group | Diaphoretickes: Plants & Algae |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Stem producing only two continuous strap-like leaves that grow for centuries from a basal meristem; seeds borne in cones; Namib desert endemic. |
| IUCN Red List status | Not Evaluated (NE): no global IUCN assessment |
| Leaves | Two, growing for life |
| Habitat | Namib Desert |