Welwitschia – the hardy desert plant
It’s not a desert flower known for its beauty or color, but the Welwitschia is one of earth’s fascinating treasures. If you want to see one you need to take a trip to Namibia.
Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitschia discovered the unusual desert plant in 1860. Hence the name.
Earlier than that, indigenous peoples used the core of the Welwitschia female plant as food – baking it in hot ashes or eating it raw. Welwitschia is referred to locally as ‘Tumboa’ or ‘N’Tumbo’ in Angola, ‘Onyanga’ by the Herero people (meaning ‘Onion of the Desert’) or Tweeblaarkanniedood in Afrikaans (meaning ‘Two Leaves that Cannot Die’).
welwitchia plant of Namibia
Welwitschia Mirabilis comprises of only two leaves that continue to grow from a seedling throughout its life. These leaves are leathery, broad and lie along the ground. In time the two leaves become shredded and tattered by the wind, eventually making the plant look as if it has many frayed leaves. It is thought to be a species of desert flora that is a living relic from the Jurassic period
The Welwitschia absorbs moisture from the thick fog that flows over the Namib desert, a region with an annual rainfall of less than 25mm. These amazing plants depend on this fog for enough moisture to survive.
Welwitschias are able to live for hundreds of years, the estimated lifespan being 400 – 1500 years old, with some larger specimens thought to be 2000 years old.
Some of the best specimens are found in the ‘Welwitschia Flats’ in the desert of Namibia with one specimen rising 1.5m from the surface with a circumference at the base of over 8m, the age of which is said to be approximately 1500 years.
The plant in its natural environment is unique on earth. Naturally it grows only in South West Africa in the Namib Desert of Namibia and the Mossamedes desert in Southern Angola.
If you plan a trip to see this facinating plant, you can combine the trip with visiting some of the other interresting tourist destinations that Namibia has to offer. For example, the unique Fish River Canyon, the Etosha National Park and Skeleton Coast National Park as well as the variety of landscapes in the Namib Desert.
Credit – taken with permission from the original article by Fleur Hupston (Suite 101)
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