Welwitschia mirabilis - 5 Seed Pack - Grows 2000 years old! - Worldwide Shipping

Welwitschia mirabilis Seeds

Weird, peculiar, wonderful, strange, bizarre, fascinating, and of course, unique, are the kind of words that are used to describe the welwitschia. It is one of the few things on Earth that can truly claim to be one of a kind. There really is nothing like it. An adult welwitschia consists of two leaves, a stem base and roots. That is all! Its two permanent leaves are unique in the plant kingdom. They are the original leaves from when the plant was a seedling, and they just continue to grow and are never shed. They are leathery, broad, strap-shaped and they lie on the ground becoming torn to ribbons and tattered with age. Carbon dating tells us that on average, welwitschias are 500-600 years old, although some of the larger specimens are thought to be 2000 years old. Their estimated lifespan is 400 to 1500 years. It is believed from recent genetic studies that the plant has been here almost unchanged for over 100 million years. The core, especially of the female plant, was used as food for people in earlier times. It is said to be very tasty either raw or baked in hot ashes, and this is how it got its Herero name, onyanga, which means onion of the desert. Welwitschia mirabilis is so distinct from other plants that it is the only specie in the Welwitschia genus. Furthermore, Welwitschia is the only genus of the family Welwitschiaceae and order Welwitschiales, in the division Gnetophyta. The plant is commonly known simply as welwitschia, and has various common names in local languages, for example kharos or khurub in Nama, tweeblaarkanniedood in Afrikaans, nyanka in Damara, and onyanga in Herero. Welwitschia mirabilis deserves a place in any serious collection of Rare and Unusual Plants.