Welwitschia Mirabilis

 The Welwitschia Mirabilis

 Welwitschia is a plant which is endemic to the Namib desert in Namibia and Southern Angola. Named after Friedrich Welwitsch who "discovered" the plant in 1859, some of the specimen are estimated to be between 1000 and 1500 years old.

The desert plant Welwitschia mirabilis is indeed an extraordinary plant, mastering life in the hot, dry desert where other plants can't survive. It only grows in the Namib desert within Namibia and Southern Angola. It's also the national plant of Namibia.

How does it survive?

Most plants absorb water from the soil through their roots. ... The Welwitschia plant works the other way around. It is able to absorb water from fog through millions of stomata on the surface of it's large leaves. From there the water moves to the rest of the plant.

Adaptations

Welwitschias have several special adaptations that allow them to live in the desert. First, they have unique structures on their leaves that allow them to harvest moisture from the dew that forms at night. They also have the ability to to perform CAM photosynthesis; they are the only gymnosperm that have this ability.