Welwitschia mirabilis leaves writhing in the desert

Welwitschia mirabilis is adapted for capturing water from fog. It may survive doing this for up to and sometimes longer than two thousands of years, sustained by only the two continuously growing leaves. There is a highly unusual meristem at the base of each leaf that remains active for decades to centuries, continuously producing new cells, keeping the leaves growing for the entire lifespan of the plant.

Weird discard of leaf tips is continual, combined with new leaf growth from the base of the same leaf. Longitudinal splitting of the fibrous leaf ribbons, driven by the plant's living conditions, creates the impression that there are more than two leaves on one plant. The leathery blades are dull dark green to yellow green (Mannheimer and Curtis, (Eds.), 2009; iNaturalist; Wikipedia; https://pza.sanbi.org; https://repository.up.ac.za).