One of the many amazing things you need to know about and may even come across during your southern African safari to Namibia is Welwitschia mirabilis. This alien-like plant is found in the northern reaches of the Namib-Naukluft National park where it has thrived for thousands of years in these harsh conditions.
What Makes Welwitschia Special?
The oldest known specimen of this plant is thought to have celebrated its 1 500th birthday and is known simply as ‘The Big Welwitschia’. You can see this long-standing inhabitant of the desert on the well-known Welwitschia Trail within the park.
Welwitschia mirabilis are not the most attractive members of the plant kingdom, but they are certainly imposing. Consisting mainly of two long strap-like leaves they sprawl forlornly across the desert sands in strands. These leaves can grow up to 6m long getting ever more weather-beaten and shredded as time progresses.
Their only other outward characteristics are clusters of short branchlike appendages which grow from its center. These carry the seed cones and pollen of the plants. In the absence of many insects, pollination is a rare event and seed-dispersal is courtesy of the relentless desert winds.
Against the Elements
Survival in the harsh environment of the Namib is no mean feat and in the case of the Welwitschia, it’s near-miraculous. Propagation is a precarious affair, with each seed requiring 25mm of rain to germinate. In a country that rarely sees a drop of precipitation, only one in a thousand seeds ever get to grow.
How do they do it?
Adult plants survive almost entirely on the water that their deep tap root systems can deliver to them from underground sources. They are supremely adapted to conserve as much water as possible above ground.
The long strappy leaves are impervious to wind and sun, which prevents the soil around the plant from overheating or being swept away. The stoma on the plants’ leaves open to encourage fog collection in the morning and then close to prevent evaporation as the day heats up.
The Welwitschia Mirabilis joins the ranks of the desert-adapted lions, rhino and elephant which not only survive, but thrive in these difficult conditions.
Add the weird Welwitschia to your list of things to see on your visit to Namibia. We’ll be happy to work it into your itinerary for you. Get in touch to make it happen.
