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Name: Velvichia
Latin name: Welwitschia
Family: Velvichiaceae
Welwitschia amazing (Welwitschia mirabilis) in its natural habitat
Velvichia - care and maintenance
Lighting: Bright sunlight
Watering: Should be moderate, even sparse, almost all times of the year. Bearing in mind the high air humidity in natural habitats, we can assume that spraying will not harm the plant.
The soil: Grow in a soil mixture of coarse sand, loam and bone meal in a ratio of 2:1:1
Velvichia - General information and appearance:
Welwitschia mirabilis is the only representative of the genus. Found in the Namib Desert, on the southwestern coast of Angola. The plant was first described in 1859 by the Austrian physician F. Velvich. The Namib Desert is one of the driest and hottest places on earth; no more than 10 mm of precipitation falls here per year. Few plants have managed to adapt to such extreme conditions. Welwitschia has a very long root reaching the groundwater level. In addition, Velvichia uses fog as a source of moisture, which envelops the coast almost 300 days a year. On the surface of the huge leaves of the plant there are many stomata that “drink” the fog. Fans of exotic plants managed to “tame” this rare plant and make it grow in their rooms. True, only true enthusiasts dare to attempt such a feat.
Velvichia is a large, dioecious plant, so it is almost impossible to obtain seeds indoors. Vegetative propagation is not practiced.
Welwitschia grows extremely slowly; with age, its short stem becomes lignified and becomes similar to a cone-shaped stump narrowed downward.
The leaves are long, leathery, shiny, they reflect sunlight. In particularly intense heat, they curl up, which reduces moisture evaporation.
Photos – Welwitschia mirabilis
Welwitschia amazing (Welwitschia mirabilis)
Welwitschia amazing (Welwitschia mirabilis)
Welwitschia mirabilis in the Namib Desert
There are many plants in the world that have adapted to the harsh conditions of hot deserts. All plants growing in arid regions of the Earth are united in a group called xerophytes. The most famous of them are cacti and succulents, which are grown by many as indoor plants. However, in the group of xerophytes there are plants that few have heard of, and only a few have seen with their own eyes.
One of these plants is Velvichia amazing, an extremely pronounced representative of xerophytes. Velvichia deserves an amazing name, as well as the title of queen of the desert, if only because it is unlike any other known plant in the world. She is one of a kind. The Velvichiaceae order includes only one family, one genus, one species - this, in fact, is Velvichia amazing.
Its life form cannot be called a grass, a bush, or a tree, although in the botanical classification it is designated as a relict tree. You can see how Velvichia grows only by going to the south of Angola or to Namibia, the rocky Namib Desert, which stretches in a narrow strip along the coast of West Africa. But if you are lucky, you can meet her in some greenhouse, because... Recently they began to cultivate it.
The scientific world learned about Velvichia not so long ago, only in the 19th century. And it was found by the Austrian professor of botany Friedrich Welwitsch. While studying the Angolan flora, he came across an unusual plant. Having seen various representatives of the flora in his life, it seemed to the professor that such a thing was impossible to come up with.
He saw something similar to a stump or a lignified oval-shaped stump with a diameter of more than a meter, from which two huge brown-green leaves emanated in both directions. Velvich carefully unfolded and measured one leaf - it turned out to be more than 2 m. Frequent strong winds tore the leaves into many thin ribbons, which were tangled and intertwined, reminiscent of the tentacles of an octopus. Subsequently, botanists called this discovery the discovery of the century.
From a distance it seems that Velvichia has many long leaves, but in fact there are only two of them, and they grow throughout its plant life, adding 8-15 cm per year. Scientific works have described a giant with leaves more than 6 m long and about 2 m wide. And its life expectancy is so long that it’s hard to believe. Although Velvichia is considered a tree, it does not have annual rings, like those on tree trunks. Scientists determined the age of individual, largest Velvichia using the radiocarbon method - it turned out that some specimens are about 2000 years old!
Most of the wide trunk of Velvichia is underground; it protrudes only 30-50 cm above the surface. Moreover, the trunk narrows towards the bottom and turns into a thick tap root, sometimes reaching three meters in length. It turns out that this dwarf tree grows downward! After all, in ordinary trees, the thinnest part of the trunk is the top.
How does this plant survive in the driest desert conditions? Some places in the Namib receive no more than 25 mm of rain per year. At first, scientists had a theory that the plant’s root reached groundwater, but it turned out to be false. This is where another amazing feature of Velvichia leaves was revealed - the ability to absorb moisture.
Over the entire area of the leaves, with the exception of the dried tips, there is an incredible number of stomata (22,000 per 1 cm²), which “open” when thick fog arrives on the coast. Moisture, condensing on the leaves, is absorbed by these same stomata. Condensation provides Velvichia with the required amount of moisture equivalent to 50 mm of precipitation. Fogs are common in this area of Africa - they cover the coast almost 300 days a year. Winds blowing from the Atlantic Ocean drive the fog 80-100 km inland. Therefore, in those places where the fog does not reach, Velvichia does not occur, because there she will simply die.
Velvichia is amazing - a proud young lady. Instead of social plant life, she prefers a solitary existence, i.e. it does not grow as a group. Velvichia's flowers look like small cones, and each female cone (the plant is dioecious) contains only one seed, and each seed is equipped with wide wings. As for pollination, botanists have differing opinions. Some believe that pollination is carried out by insects, while others are more inclined to the action of wind
Welwitschia is protected by the Namibian Nature Conservation Act. Collecting its seeds is prohibited without special permission. The entire area where Velvichia grows was turned into the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Of course, such a miracle of nature needs protection. It has adapted to harsh natural conditions, but to human predation...
This amazing plant can be found in Namibia and Angola, which are located on the continent of Africa. It grows in the Namib Desert along the coastline, moving no more than 100 km into the desert. The full name of the species of this plant is Velvichia Amazing. According to scientific classification, it is classified as a tree, but in fact this plant is very unique and is the only representative of its family and genus. There are no plants similar to Velvichia on our planet.
Scientific classification:
Species: Velvichia amazing
Family: Velvichiaceae
Genus: Velvichia
Class: Gnetovye
Department: Oppressive
Order: Velvichiaceae
Kingdom: Plants
Domain: Eukaryotes
The main source of moisture for Velvichia is the fog that covers the desert coastline. There is very little precipitation in the desert. Sometimes individual plants can be found near temporary watercourses within the desert itself. At first glance at the plant it may seem that it has many leaves, but in fact there are only two of them and they grow throughout its life. Over time, they can tear on narrow belts and create a deceptive effect that there are a lot of leaves on the plant. Local tribes call this plant “otji tumbo,” which translates to “big lord.”
The leaves can grow 8-15 cm per year. They reach 2-4 meters in length, and the longest ones were found up to 8 meters. Leaves can be up to 2 meters wide. At the ends, the leaves begin to die and curl. And if you touch the leaves, they resemble boards. During the entire life of the plant, Velvichia amazing does not grow new leaves.
The root is very thick, goes 1.5 - 3 meters into the ground and has two tiers of lateral roots. The first is at a level of about 10 cm below the soil, and the second is at a level of about 1 meter.
The trunk of the plant is mostly underground. The trunk diameter can reach 1 meter. It is woody, hollow, cone-like. It rises above the ground only 15-50 cm.
Since the main source of moisture for Velvichia is fog, its leaves have a very large number of stomata - approximately 22,000 per square centimeter, through which the plant absorbs moisture. Velvichia amazing grows one plant at a time; plants are not found in groups.
The plant is dioecious, that is, it is divided into female and male plants. The flowers look like cones, with female cones larger in size than male ones. Pollination occurs with the help of wind. It is also thanks to the wind that Velvichia seeds are spread across the desert.
The lifespan of Velvichia is quite long. Thanks to the research, plants that are more than 2,000 years old were discovered.
Velvichia video:
Today, Velvichia amazing grows not only in the Namibian desert, but it is also cultivated in greenhouses and even used as a houseplant. Velvichia is a very capricious plant at home, but because of its uniqueness it is in demand.
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Welwitschia is amazing (Welwitschia mirabilis).
This name was assigned to it by the English botanist Joseph Hooker: the generic name - in honor of Friedrich Welwitsch, the Austrian traveler and botanist, who discovered this plant in the south of Angola in 1860, and the specific name - apparently in memory of the feelings that this plant evoked, because everything in it unusual.
The trunk of Velvichia looks like a stump or stump, low and thick, almost completely hidden in the ground. Its above-ground part rarely exceeds half a meter in height. From bottom to bottom, the trunk tapers conically and smoothly turns into a taproot up to 3 meters long. In the upper part the trunk is more or less saddle-bilobed, covered with a dense layer of cork up to 2 cm thick.
In adulthood, Velvichia has two (and only two!) leaves, which is its unique feature. At the same time, the leaves are able to grow indefinitely at a speed of 8-15 cm per year and reach a length of up to 3 meters. But that's usual. The literature describes simply gigantic specimens with leaves up to 6 meters and a width of 1.8 meters!
The Welwitschia leaf can be divided into three parts. At its base there are processes of cell division and actual growth in length, the middle part is responsible for photosynthesis, and the ends of the leaves gradually die off, dry out and tear into thin strips, creating a feeling of unkempt shaggyness. The leaves are very hard to the touch and look more like boards than living plant organs. Their color is brown-green. The internal structure contains mucus passages, like those of cycads (Cycadaceae), a very ancient group of gymnosperms. And the stomata are exactly like those of the Bennettitaceae, not only an even more ancient, but also a completely extinct group of plants. These facts clearly indicate that the origins of Velvichia should be sought in the depths of centuries.
The described pair of leaves appears immediately behind the cotyledons, which subsequently fall off. And then the development of the plant stops! The trunk grows only in breadth, and the leaves grow in length. Therefore, Velvichia can well be called an “adult teenager.”
Close-up of the top of a female plant with inflorescences and the structure remains at the same age. But the lifespan of our heroine is extremely long!
Welwitschia grows in the barren deserts of Angola and southwestern tropical Africa, in the rocky Namib Desert, which stretches along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is almost never found further than a hundred kilometers from the coast, and this is due to its unique specificity. The fact is that the Namib Desert is extremely arid and hot. Not a drop of rain falls here for months, and yet Velvichia grows quietly in open places and feels quite well there. Where does she get the moisture she needs?
Previously it was believed that its rather long root could reach groundwater, but it later turned out that this was not the case. Almost the only source of moisture in this desert is the thick fog that shrouds the coast in the morning for 300 days a year, and ocean breezes drive its life-giving drops far inland. The mist condenses on the huge leaves of Welwitschia and water is absorbed through the stomata. Therefore, it is not surprising that Welwitschia leaves have an exceptionally large number of stomata - 22,000 stomata per 1 cm2!
Velvichia is sometimes grown in greenhouses, although not because of its decorative qualities, but because of its absolute exclusivity. By the way, its cultivation requires great skill and patience on the part of gardeners, since it, like many extraordinary personalities, is quite capricious and sensitive to even minor changes in the regime.
In its homeland, Velvichia is especially protected and enjoys well-deserved respect. She was even honored to be placed on the coat of arms of Namibia, as a symbol of national fortitude. And the Bushmen tribes call it “otji tumbo”, which means “big lord”. And, it should be noted - absolutely fair!
