Crown Jewel: Welwitschia

Welwitschia mirabilis Hook
Family: Welwitschiaceae 

As the South African name 'tweeblaarkanniedood' (= two-leaves cannot die) suggests, this plant has only two leaves. They grow from the base and die back slowly at the tip. The plant develops a top-shaped stem as it ages, which causes the leaves to grow broader. The flowers are imperfect (single-sexed) and there are separate male and female plants. Welwitschias can grow to be very old: reaching an age of 2000 years. This probably explains the second part of the name: kanniedood (cannot die).

Welwitschia mirabilis grows naturally in only one place on Earth: in the dry Namib desert of Namibia and southern Angola. The plant catches water from the morning fog that rolls in from the sea. The fog condenses on the leaves and is absorbed through the stomata (openings on the leaf surface).

Welwitschia mirabilis is an ancient plant species. It is the last remaining species of a group of plants that evolved approximately 240 million years ago. Related to Ginkgo, Gnetum, and cycads, this group constitutes an evolutionary transitional form between the cryptogams and the flowering plants. Welwitschia not only has 'naked' seeds, but also woody tissue and inflorescences that look like real flowers.

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