Welwitschia is a monotypic gymnosperm genus, comprising solely the very distinct Welwitschia mirabilis.

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 is endemic to the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola.

The species is sometimes given the name Welwitschia bainesii to honour its co-discoverer, Thomas Baines.

Welwitschia mirabilis is endemic to the Kaokoveld Centre ; the population is distributed southwards from the Nicolau River in southern Angola, to the Kuiseb River in Namibia and up to 100km inland of the coast.

The commonest of the true bugs attending Welwitschia is a member of the family Pyrrhocoridae: Odontopus sexpunctatus.

Though much associated with Welwitschia mirabilis however, Odontopus sexpunctatus may not be a Welwitschia specialist ; there are claims that it also occurs on other plants, such as Adansonia, though it is not clear how well-supported these claims might be.

Image: Welwitschia mirabilis ( 2 ). jpg | The largest known Welwitschia, nicknamed " The Big Welwitschia ", stands 1. 4 m tall and is over 4 m in diameter

The Welwitschia plant is considered a living fossil, and is found only in the Namib Desert

The term is not used for angiosperms or the gnetophytes Gnetum and Welwitschia because the megagametophyte is reduced to just a few cells, one of which differentiates into the egg cell.

By far the largest group of living gymnosperms is the conifers ( pines, cypresses, and relatives ), followed by cycads, Gnetophytes ( Gnetophyta, Ephedra and Welwitschia ), and Ginkgo ( a single living species ).

A unique cone-bearing plant in the Order Welwitschiales, Welwitschia mirabilis is often called a living fossil and is the only species in its genus, which is the only genus in its family, which is the only family in its Order.

Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch ( 25 February 1806 – 20 October 1872 ) was an Austrian explorer and botanist who in Angola discovered the plant Welwitschia mirabilis.

An additional special case exists in Welwitschia, an African gymnosperm plant that produces only two leaves which grow continuously throughout the plant's life but gradually wear away at the apex.

Welwitschia can live for over 1000 years.

Most botanists have treated Welwitschia as a distinct monotypic genus in a monotypic family or even order.

Most recent systems place Welwitschia mirabilis in its own family Welwitschiaceae in the gymnosperm order Gnetales.

Welwitschia has an elongated, but relatively shallow root system and a woody, fibrous unbranched stem.

Infrequently, wasps and bees also play a role as pollinators of Welwitschia.

File: Namib, Welwitschia mirabilis. jpg | Proportions

File: Welwitschia_mirabilis0425. jpg | Welwitschia in the petrified forest of Khorixas ( Namibia ).

File: Odontopus_sexpunctatusII. jpg | Welwitschia bug ( Odontopus sexpunctatus ).

Most morphological and molecular studies confirm that Gnetum and Welwitschia diverged from each other more recently than from Ephedra.

Welwitschia comprises only one species, Welwitschia mirabilis.

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