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Welwitschia, two leaves for a lifetime

It looks like a tangle of ribbons, but Welwitschia mirabilis keeps two adult leaves, growing as their ends split and fray.

1 min readPublished
Welwitschia on sandy ground: two broad, strap-shaped leaves emerge from a low woody stem, with parallel veins and ends split into ribbons.
Positive Times · ImageGen · AI-assisted illustration

For experienced growers

How to care for it, step by step

Care guide checked on

Is it for you?

A specialist plant for a warm greenhouse with controlled root and water management. Its desert habitat does not make it a windowsill cactus to forget about. [1][2]

Where to put it

Provide controlled light and warmth, protecting young leaves from intense summer sun. UC Davis maintains warm conditions in winter rather than a freezing rest period. [1]

When and how to water

Check moisture and drainage; do not impose prolonged drought. UC Davis watering in pumice depends on its greenhouse conditions, not a household schedule. [1]

Pot and growing medium

Prepare a deep container and freely draining mineral mix before transfer. Young plants have a long, delicate main root: avoid bending it or unnecessary handling. [2]

Step by step

  1. Agree a care routine with the grower for the plant and medium supplied. [2]

  2. Arrange space, a deep pot and warmth first; only then transfer carefully. [2]

  3. Compare growth at the leaf bases with the older tips: they are different ages. [1]

If something looks wrong

Old tips become tattered

Check

The two leaves keep growing at their bases while their tips age. [1]

What to do

Do not overhaul the routine because of an old tip; watch new growth most closely. [1]

Struggling after transplanting

Check

Check whether the root was bent or damaged during transfer. [2]

What to do

Avoid repeatedly unpotting it and seek the grower’s help. [2]

Read the sources (2)
  1. Welwitschia UC Davis Botanical Conservatory · accessed 7 Oct 2026
  2. Creeping curiosities: Welwitschia mirabilis National Botanic Garden of Wales · accessed 7 Oct 2026

Welwitschia mirabilis lives in the Namib Desert and retains just two leaves as an adult. It is not necessarily a newly sprouted plant: Kew describes living specimens more than a thousand years old. Two leaves can therefore accompany a very long life. [1]

SANBI’s botanical profile explains the apparent trick: the two leaves are broad, leathery and strap-shaped; they keep growing and tear into strips with age. What looks like a heap of leaves is the result of those same two leaves becoming frayed. [2]

Take this with youOur visual exercise: trace the ribbons back to the stem. Counting the ends does not tell you how many leaves there are.

Read the sources (2)
  1. The living fossil Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · accessed 12 Sept 2026
  2. Welwitschia mirabilis South African National Biodiversity Institute · PlantZAfrica · accessed 12 Sept 2026

Original writing and illustration made with AI assistance. Our editorial method

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