Welwitschia mirabilis


Welwitschia is a monotypic genus of gymnosperm plant, composed solely of the very distinct Welwitschia mirabilis. It is the only genus of the family Welwitschiaceae, in the order Welwitschiales, in the division Gnetophyta. The plant, which is considered a living fossil,[1][2] is named after the Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch who discovered it in 1859. The geographic distribution of Welwitschia mirabilis is limited to the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola.


Size: 5200px × 3454px
Location: Skeleton Coast, Namibia, Africa
Photo credit: © Miguel Cuenca / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: division:, dry, family:, genus:, gnetophyta, kingdom:, mirabilis, namibia, namibian, order:, plant, plantae, weird, welwitschia, welwitschiaceae, welwitschiales