Welwitschia mirabilis is an extraordinary desert plant, considered a living fossil, and it is unlike any other known plant on Earth.
In 1859, Austrian botanist and physician Friedrich Welwitsch discovered the species Welwitschia mirabilis in the Namib Desert in southwestern Africa. Welwitsch was astonished by this unique plant. A few years later, in 1861, a famous artist and traveler, Thomas Baines, found another Welwitschia plant on the dry riverbed of the Swakop River in Namibia.
To learn more about this plant, Welwitsch sent the first specimen of the Welwitschia plant in 1862 to Joseph Dalton Hooker, the director of Kew Gardens in London. Despite Welwitsch’s suggestion to name the plant Tumboa (the Angolan name), Hooker described the characteristics of this special plant and decided to name it Welwitschia in honor of Friedrich Welwitsch’s discovery.
Austrian botanist Frederich Welwitsch in Angola, working for the Portuguese government from 1853 to 1861, was the first naturalist to discover this ancient giant plant in 1859. (Image: Unbelievable-facts).
In any case, the current scientific name of this plant has been amended to Welwitschia mirabilis.
Welwitschia is a rare species of gymnosperm. Gymnosperms are a type of plant that does not produce seeds in fruits but can easily be found on the surface of plants, on leaves, or at the tips of their stems. It is believed that gymnosperms survived the dinosaur era! The Welwitschia species is so unique that it is placed in its own family – Gnetales, which is a small group of gymnosperms.
Strangely prominent in the desert with its unusual broad leaves, it is one of the oldest plants in the world, with a lifespan that reflects the environment in which it grows. It has a lifespan akin to… “the grandfather” of all plants, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 years! (Image: Unbelievable-facts).
Welwitschia mirabilis consists of two permanent large leaves along with a stem base and roots. These leaves are broad and pale green. As the thick leaves grow, they split into many segments, giving the appearance of having multiple leaves.
Before Welwitschia divides into many thin roots, its deep taproot can penetrate the ground up to 1.5 meters or more. It is believed that the taproot of Welwitschia mirabilis must reach deep water sources, as the Namib region receives very little rainfall. The taproot is known to absorb nutrients and water from the soil. The stem of Welwitschia is hollow and short, featuring a non-branching woody crown.
The plant can grow up to approximately 500 mm, and the largest recorded specimen, found in the Messum Mountains, reached a height of 1.8 meters. Another remarkable Welwitschia plant discovered near the Swakop River measured 1.2 meters in height and 8.7 meters in width.
Botanist Joseph Hooker named this extraordinary flower Welwitschia mirabilis after its discoverer, while Charles Darwin referred to it as the “platypus plant.” Classified as a gymnosperm, Welwitschia mirabilis is suggested to be referred to in Vietnamese as Bách Lan (Lan thiên tuế, Lan nghìn tuổi) or “Gắm Angola.” They only exist and grow exclusively in the Namib Desert of Angola, and notably, no other plant is closely related to it. Scientifically explained, it is the only gymnosperm in the order Welwitschiales, belonging to the single genus Welwitschia, family Welwitschiaceae, and order Welwitschiales in the classification of gymnosperms. (Image: Unbelievable-facts)
Welwitschia is mainly known as a plant that has survived through many eras! Using radiocarbon dating methods, it has been determined that Welwitschia can have a lifespan ranging from about 400 to 1,500 years. However, some of them may have existed for up to 2,000 years, setting a Guinness World Record for the longest-living leaves of any plant! These desert plants undergo a growth cycle every summer.
For survival, every species requires water and food. However, for Welwitschia Mirabilis, only about 8 ml of water is sufficient for the entire year. A small portion of this water comes from rain, while the rest is from dew. As a low-growing plant originating from the cotyledons of seeds, it forms from a large upright stalk and only grows two broad leaves throughout its life. These two leaves grow slowly and can reach a maximum length of 2 to 4 meters. They are battered by wind and sand, twisting into bizarre shapes, which often leads people to mistakenly think the plant has many leaves, giving it the nickname “the desert octopus.” (Image: Unbelievable-facts).
In fact, you can grow Welwitschia mirabilis at home. First, in a container or pot, you need to sow seeds on well-drained sandy soil in spring or summer. Place stones or gravel at the bottom of the container to ensure proper drainage. Additionally, maintaining consistent soil moisture in the first eight months, with special care during transplanting, can save the taproot from damage. You can also gradually expose the plant to filtered sunlight and adjust watering seasonally to prevent leaf scorch, meaning less water in winter and more at the end of spring.
When it comes to feeding, provide inorganic fertilizer for Welwitschia in spring and organic fertilizer made from seaweed in summer. Generally, Welwitschia thrives without any diseases, but in the first year, you should water with fungicide because young plants are very susceptible to mealybug attacks.
