Welwitschia (Welwitschia mirabilis)

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palmbob Acton, CA(Zone 8b) Jun 21, 2004

Welwitschia
Welwitschia mirabilis

early flowers on Pasadena plant, California

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Post #920636
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Lophophora Tokyo, Japan Jun 22, 2004

Hi palmbob!

Are you growing that??? If so, congratulations - it's a beautiful specimen.
How many years did it take to get that big? Have you seen these pictures of 1500~2000 yr old plants in the Namib Desert?

http://www.namibweb.com/welwitschia.htm

Post #920946
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palmbob Acton, CA(Zone 8b) Jun 22, 2004

nope, not mine... belongs to the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena... very old specimen (collected in the wild- not from seed)... I would guess at least 50 years and maybe older (over 100?). I have seen photos of very old plants, and actually know someone in the desert here in So Cal with a plant estimated at 300+ years old. Not really great looking landscaping plants, but curious, and fascinating. I have a seedling (can see in one of the photos) that was from seed... it will be decades before that plant looks like anything.

Post #921094
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Lophophora Tokyo, Japan Jun 22, 2004

Oh well..

I checked out your "seedling" - so far, so good!

I once saw seeds of this in one of the SA catalogs (Silverhill perhaps?) but passed them up - couldn't get my sister to commit her great-great-grandchilden to tending it...

;)

Post #921143
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palmbob Acton, CA(Zone 8b) Jul 30, 2008

this is a male plant

Post #5342210
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