It's called Welwitschia mirabilis.
It is the last remaining plant in its genus, the last in its family, the last in its order.
It comes from a community of plants that thrived more than 200 million years ago. All of them slowly vanished, except for Welwitschia.
Welwitschia was "discovered" in 1859 by an Austrian explorer and botanist — Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch — but dinosaurs "discovered" them, too. Welwitschia plants were around when the killer asteroid hit our planet 65 million years ago. They stayed when the ice came. They stayed when the ice went. They have survived fires, pests, seen an endless parade of new insects, viruses, parasites, people, roads, local wars — and somehow, even today, there are thousands of them in the Namibian desert.
More here: http://www.contriving.net/link/fg
This supremely ugly plant is around 2000 years old.
It’s called Welwitschia mirabilis.
It is the last remaining plant in its genus, the last in its family, the last in its order.
It comes from a community of plants that thrived more than 200 million years ago. All of them slowly vanished, except for Welwitschia.
Welwitschia was “discovered” in 1859 by an Austrian explorer and botanist — Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch — but dinosaurs “discovered” them, too. Welwitschia plants were around when the killer asteroid hit our planet 65 million years ago. They stayed when the ice came. They stayed when the ice went. They have survived fires, pests, seen an endless parade of new insects, viruses, parasites, people, roads, local wars — and somehow, even today, there are thousands of them in the Namibian desert.
More here:Â http://www.contriving.net/link/fg
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Nice! In North America we have our own ancient – the Bristlecone Pine! Some are over 5000 years old, and most locations are kept secret so no-one tries to grab a souvenir :-D  I imagine the energies from these plants must be very powerful indeed! ♥♥♥
looks tired, 2K years can weigh on you ….
"energies"
That plant looks how I feel.
http://imgur.com/AJVIxSA
????????
Consist of only two leaves, but which are very long and highly coiled…
+Donna Zachare
 Energies?
suprised.!!!!!
Thanks you all for the comment, Welwicthia belongs to Angola my Lovely Country…
This seems to be part of a wider research by artist Rachel Sussman  project http://ideas.ted.com/2014/05/29/gallery-the-oldest-living-things-in-the-world/
What are the chances of taking cuttings to save?
+Runivis Roan it's a metaphysical/spiritual/religious thing ;-D  one of my favorite topics to study
+Donna Zachare
 Oh, so in other words you specialize in bs?
+Donna Zachare
 Oh, so in other words you specialize in bs?
+Randall Laue Fortunately this species is not going extinct and many specimens are in botanic gardens and private collections.
+Randall Laue Fortunately this species is not going extinct and many specimens are in botanic gardens and private collections.
Welcome to my blocked list +Runivis Roan I am not interested in interacting with you at this time 😀
is the Ugliness in the object or the perception?
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