Why does it look like it has many leaves?

The two leaves split into strips

Welwitschia Quiz: Two Leaves That Last a Thousand Years

This Welwitschia quiz crosses the gravel plains of the Namib Desert to meet one of the strangest plants on Earth. Play 10 interactive questions on two leaves that grow for life, leaves splitting into ragged strips, lifespans over a thousand years, moisture from coastal fog, separate male and female plants with cones, Namibia's coat of arms and the botanist behind the name.

Start Welwitschia Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Desert
Which desert is home to Welwitschia?
Leaves
How many leaves does Welwitschia grow in its life?
Growth
How do the leaves grow?
Strips
Why does it look like it has many leaves?
Age
How long can Welwitschia live?
Fog
Which source of moisture helps it survive?
Sex
How does Welwitschia reproduce?
Symbol
Where does Welwitschia appear as a national symbol?
Name
Who is Welwitschia named after?
Group
Which plant group does it belong to?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which desert is home to Welwitschia?
Answer: Namib Desert
It grows in Namibia and Angola.
Q2: How many leaves does Welwitschia grow in its life?
Answer: Two
They never fall off.
Q3: How do the leaves grow?
Answer: Continuously from the base
Old ends wear away.
Q4: Why does it look like it has many leaves?
Answer: The two leaves split into strips
Wind and age tear them.
Q5: How long can Welwitschia live?
Answer: Over a thousand years
Some are thought to be far older.
Q6: Which source of moisture helps it survive?
Answer: Coastal fog
Rain is rare.
Q7: How does Welwitschia reproduce?
Answer: Separate male and female plants with cones
Insects visit the cones.
Q8: Where does Welwitschia appear as a national symbol?
Answer: Namibia's coat of arms
It is a national plant.
Q9: Who is Welwitschia named after?
Answer: Botanist Friedrich Welwitsch
He described it in 1859.
Q10: Which plant group does it belong to?
Answer: Gymnosperms
Pines are distant relatives.

Two Leaves for a Thousand Years

Welwitschia grows on the gravel plains of the Namib Desert in Namibia and Angola. It produces only two leaves in its entire life. They grow continuously from the base while the old ends wear away, and wind and age split them into ragged strips, so the plant looks like a tangled heap of leaves.

Welwitschia can live for more than a thousand years, and some plants are thought to be far older. Rain is rare in the Namib, and coastal fog provides moisture. It is a gymnosperm, a distant relative of pines, with separate male and female plants that bear cones visited by insects.

The plant is named after Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch, who described it in 1859. It is Namibia's national plant and appears on the country's coat of arms. Large old plants are protected, and visitors follow marked trails to see them.

What This Quiz Teaches

Plant fans will enjoy these questions.

Where Welwitschia grows
How its leaves behave
How long it lives
How it gets water
Why it is a symbol

Did You Know?

Its stem is low and woody.
Seedlings rarely survive.
Bugs suck its sap.
It has a deep taproot.
Botanists call it a living fossil.