Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana in the Namib Desert

The two photos of Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana shown in this Album were taken in the Namib-Naukluft National Park east of Swakopmund in Namibia during January. The other subspecies of this plant, viz. W. mirabilis subsp. mirabilis grows in Angola.

The September 2013 edition of the Rhino Club Newsletter gave the following about the plant’s botanical heritage: “Most recent systems place W. mirabilis in its own family Welwitschiaceae in the gymnosperm order Gnetales. The order Gnetales is most closely related to the order Pinales, which includes pines, spruces, larches and firs. After germination the cotyledons grow to 25--35 mm in length, and are followed shortly afterward by the appearance of two permanent leaves. The growth of the true leaves outstrips that of the cotyledons after about four months, after which the growing tips of the two cotyledons die. The true leaves are produced at right angles to the cotyledons and continue to grow in length throughout the entire life of the plant. Those two leaves grow continuously from a basal meristem in the plants terminal groove.”

(See also the entries on W. mirabilis in the Bulbs Album elsewhere on this Site.)