Angola: Welwitschia Plains

This is one of the most unique plants on Earth – Welwitschia Mirabilis aka “Living Fossil”. (I have seen these before in Namibia, but here in Angola they are much more spectacular and growing in remote hard to access areas of the Namib Desert to huge sizes and large concentrations). This is the only plant species in its family, and is absolutely unique beyond the imagination. In fact, when it was discovered by the famous Austria botanist Friedrich Welwitsch in 1865, he wrote that he “could do nothing but kneel down and gaze at it, half in fear lest a touch should prove it a figment of the imagination.” Welwitschias can live over 1,500 years (with some carbon-dated to around 2,000 years), enduring harsh desert conditions through slow growth and resilience. Each plant grows just two leaves throughout its life, which split and fray into strips, sometimes called a “desert octopus”. Welwitschia’s lineage dates back to the Jurassic period, making it a relic of prehistoric flora. The plant is dioecious – meaning male and female reproductive organs are on separate plants, with insects like flies doing the pollination between different plants. Welwitschias grow only a few milliliters per year, absorbing scarce moisture from fog and dew through their leaves and shallow roots – a true masterclass in desert adaptation. Welwitchias are only found in a narrow coastal strip of the Namib desert in Namibia and Angola. And while in Namibia the plant is threatened due to human collecting and overgrazing, it’s safe in Angola – many areas where it grows are full of unexploded mines from the Angolan civil war and are thus inaccessible!