Welwitschia Mirabilis (Plant Kingdom)

Welwitschia Mirabilis Kingdom : Plantae Divisio : Gnetophytha Class : Gnetopsida Order : Welwitschiales Familli : Welwitschiaceae Genus : Welwitschia Hook F Species : W. mirabilis Welwitschia is a monotypic gymnosperm genus, comprising solely the distinctive Welwitschia mirabilis , endemic to the Namib Desert within Namibia and Angola. The plant is commonly known simply as welwitschia in English, but the name tree tumbo is also used. It is called kharos or khurub in Nama, tweeblaarkanniedood in Afrikaans, nyanka in Damara, and onyanga in Herero. Welwitschia is the only living genus of the family Welwitschiaceae and order Welwitschiales, in the division Gnetopyhta. Informal sources commonly refer to the plant as a "living fossil". Naming Welwitschia is named after the Austrian botanist and doctor Friedrich Welwitsch, who was the first European to describe the plant, in 1859 in present-day Angola. Welwitsch was so overwhe...