Not collected

Welwitschia mirabilis Hook.f.

March 22, 2018

Namibia

This occurrence of Welwitschia mirabilis Hook.f. (Not collected) was collected on March 22, 2018 in Namibia. Flora of the World includes 47 field photographs documenting this occurrence, all of which are displayed here.

Welwitschia mirabilis--Namibia. C43 S of Khowarib. Odom 220. DSC02716 (7).JPG

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Record Number

Not collected

Collection Date

March 22, 2018 · Namibia

Collectors

Leevi Nanyeni, Christopher Davidson, Sharon R. Christoph, Christopher Dalzell

Remarks

Healthy population of both genders with many small and medium-sized plants, no large individuals. The hemipteran insect is Probergrothius angolensis (Pyrrhocoridae), often associated with Welwitschia. Sometimes credited with pollen transfer, its functional role is in doubt.

Classification

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Gnetopsida

Order

Welwitschiales

Family

Welwitschiaceae

Genus

Welwitschia

Specific Epithet

mirabilis

Authorship

Hook.f.

Source

GBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Conservation (EDGE)

What is EDGE?

Evolutionary distinctiveness

Very high

ED 114.6

Among the most evolutionarily isolated plants known — losing it erases an irreplaceable branch of the plant tree of life.

Threat status

Not Assessed

Not evaluated

EDGE score

39.3

Global rank

#4 of 1,090

Top 100 globally

This lineage appears to have diverged from its closest living relatives roughly 115 million years ago — a long, lonely branch of the plant tree of life.

Source: Gymnosperms EDGE assessment →