Welwitschiaceae
Welwitschia

Welwitschia mirabilis Hook.f.

First published in Gard. Chron. 1862: 71 (1862)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SW. Angola to NW. & W. Central Namibia. It is a subshrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Distribution

Native to:

Angola, Namibia

Synonyms

Heterotypic Synonyms

Classification

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Publications

POWO follows these authorities in accepting this name:

  • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  • Jacobson, N., Jacobson, P. , van Jaarsveld, E. & Jacobson, K. (2014). Field evidence from Namibia does not support the designation of Angolan and Namibian subspecies of Welwitschia mirabilis Hook. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 69: 179-186.

Kew Species Profiles

  • Albuquerque, S., Brummitt, R.K., & Figueiredo, E. (2009). Typification of names based on the Angolan collections of Friedrich Welwitsch. Taxon 58. 641-646.
  • Andrews, K. (2006). Welwitschia mirabilis. Assessment using IUCN Categories and Criteria 3.1 (IUCN 2001). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Bustard, L. (1990). The ugliest plant of the world: the story of Welwitschia mirabilis. Kew Magazine. 7:85-90.
  • Curtis, B. & Mannheimer, C. (2005). Tree Atlas of Namibia. National Botanical Research Institute, Windhoek.
  • Van Jaarsvel, E. (2000). Welwitschia mirabilis. Veld & Flora 86: 176-179.
  • Van Koenen, E. (2001). Medicinal, Poisonous and Edible Plants in Namibia. Klaus Hess, Windhoek.

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Jacobson, N., Jacobson, P. , van Jaarsveld, E. & Jacobson, K. (2014). Field evidence from Namibia does not support the designation of Angolan and Namibian subspecies of Welwitschia mirabilis Hook. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 69: 179-186.

Other Data

Other Kew resources that provide information on this taxon:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Jan 1, 2015 Tijmens, W. [s.n.] South Africa K:SPC-30379.000 No
May 12, 2005 K:SPC-18878.000 No
May 12, 2005 K:SPC-20737.001 No
Jan 1, 2001 Welwitch, F.M.J. [s.n.] Angola K000076241 Lectotype Yes
Rodin, R.J. [9354] Angola K000454305 No
s.coll. [s.n.] K000454304 No
Monteiro [s.n.] Angola K000076237 Unknown Type Material Yes
Monteiro [s.n.] Angola K000076238 Unknown Type Material Yes
South Tropical Africa Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-70000.347 No
South Tropical Africa Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-66472.000 No
South Tropical Africa Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-66480.000 No
South Tropical Africa Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-70000.300 No
South Tropical Africa Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-80176.000 No
Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-66470.000 No
South Tropical Africa Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-66504.000 No
South Tropical Africa Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-66641.000 No
Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-70000.614 No
South Tropical Africa Welwitschia bainesii K:SPC-70000.348 No
Jan 1, 2015 Galpin; Pearson [7441] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454307 No
Jan 1, 2015 Rodin, R.J. [8906] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454317 No
Jan 1, 2015 Cleverly, J.G. [1725] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454303 No
Jan 1, 2015 Hardy, D.; de Winter, B. [1428] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454311 No
Jan 1, 2015 Rodin, R.J. [8905] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454316 No
Jan 1, 2015 s.coll. [7476] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454306 No
Jan 1, 2015 Giess, W. [9540] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454319 No
Jan 1, 2015 Galpin; Pearson [7440] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454308 No
Jan 1, 2015 Galpin; Pearson [7470] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454315 No
Jan 1, 2001 Rodin, R.J. [8900] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454318 No
Baines, J.T. [s.n.] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K001057641 Unknown Type Material Yes
Rodin, R.J. [2606] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454310 No
Baines [s.n.] Namibia Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. namibiana K000454312 No

Sources

  • EDGE Gymnosperms

    • EDGE of Existence (Gymnosperms)
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Kew Species Profiles

    • Kew Species Profiles
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0