Welwitschia mirabilis, ancient pioneer ready for new followers

It is reasonable to say that plants generally precede animals in pioneering life in hot deserts. Vegetation establishes the basic conditions for animal survival by stabilizing the soil, providing food, and moderating microclimates. Plants convert sunlight into chemical energy that forms the base of the food web. Xerophytes, the plants adapted to drought, evolve strategies such as thick cuticles, reduced leaves, water storage organs, and deep roots for surviving extreme aridity.

As global warming enters the domain of life on earth, such plants can rise in the estimation of people compelled to deal with new survival problems. In other words, plants that can photosynthesize under stress and grow well on limited resources may become more valued as models for food security, especially in the earth's enlarging hot, dry regions. 

The way a Welwitschia mirabilis plant keeps growing the same two leaves from the base for centuries from adapted meristems, is a notion not to go unnoticed in tomorrow’s food labs. Generally, in a future where survival in arid zones becomes more pressing, people may look increasingly to the existing “living fossils” like Welwitschia as pioneers, as sources of ecological lessons for our times. 

A symbol of endurance, a cultural icon of resilience, this plant already stands beside cacti and baobabs in ecological achievements relevant for today. And probably already ahead of them, for W. mirabilis may well feature bigger in the likely tomorrow of earth. People pondering this plant may reflect on such notions, as the urgency of their situation increases. For the likely tomorrow is a fast approaching one in which people may soon see fewer orchids, ferns and proteas (Mannheimer and Curtis (Eds.), 2009; iNaturalist; https://academic.oup.com; https://www.britannica.com; https://www.internetgeography.net).