The Living Fossil We Aren’t Aware It Exists

Welwitschia is a desert plant which lives in only few areas of Namibia and Angola. This plant is unique genus from the family Welwitschiaceae and the Welwitschiales order. Its Latin name is welwitschia mirabilis and it is believed that it exists since the Mesozoic era. That’s why they call it living fossil.

Welwitschia is named after the Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch, and it has been discovered in 1859. It is a succulent plant since it grows in deserts only, and it absorbs water through heavy rain. In many cases, it also absorbs water through fog. Welwitschia grows only in foggy places and when the water is condensed on its leaves then the plant absorbs it.

The fully grown plants consist of three parts: roots, base stem and leaves. Its seeds are 36×25 mm big and they spring up after heavy rain. The germ grows from the seeds and it first appears as two cotyledons, which are visible for four months. Then two real leafs start to grow from the base of the cotyledons, while the cotyledons die.

During its life, welwittschia have only two leaves and they grow very slowly. They are 2-4 meters long. They grow upwards and outwards from the original apex in same time. This species is dioecious, which means that there are both female and male type of the plant. Pollination is carried by insects.

Some researchers say that some of these plants are more than 2000 years old.