Namibia: Welwitschia at Namib-Naukluft NP

Welwitschia mirabilis is one of the most bizarre plants on Earth and it only grows on Welwitschia plains deep in the heart of the Namib Desert. The plant only grows two leaves during its entire lifetime, but these leaves grow up to 4 meters long and the plants have been recorded to live up to 2000 years. The leaf structure is also unique in that they have special pores that open up during the foggy morning and close up during the heat of the day. The biggest plant on the Welwitschia plane is 1.5 meter tall.
Maps were disabled by the visitor on this site. Click to open the map in a new window.