In 1967, Kers11 visited sites in Namibia and published all records of that time. She photographed this example . Only populations 10 and 12 (p < 0.33) were not significantly different (Supplementary Tables S1 and S2). The largest known is 9 ft 1 in (2.77 m) in diameter (8.7 m (29 ft) in circumference). The Welwitschia population farthest from the Atlantic coast (149 km) is situated just W of Khorixas at -20.39 latitude. Specifications Type Plant Sleep - Campsites - Location Namib desert Activities View points A scientifically substantiated examination, which should be taken with a punch of humour. namibiana. namibiana; (e): PCoA (Dice) of the five populations of W. m. ssp. Ever since Joseph Hooker provided the first scientific descriptions of Welwitschia mirabilis in 1863, it has been evident that this seed plant species has the distinction of being among the most unusual and highly apomorphic of all photosynthetic organisms. Some of the smaller range fragments and their subunits (Sanitatas, Ougams, Ganias, the Khan gorges, and the plains south of Swakop) could reasonably be understood as interconnected catchment systems. However, the general climatic niche of 20–200 mm MAP does not explain the disjunct range of Welwitschia encompassing a broad, uninterrupted band from the Kuiseb to central Angola. With the newly found locations, the area of distribution of the genus almost doubles in Angola. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Kers, L. E. The distribution of Welwitschia mirabilis Hook.f. The overall pattern supports the findings of the PCA. Welwitschia mirabilis has a long life expectancy16,17 and a highly unusual morphology. The phylogeny, morphology, and ecology of Welwitschia mirabilis make it one of the most extraordinary plant species on Earth. Oksanen, J. et al. Given the presence of well-isolated populations with unique gene pools and the association with different bioclimatic variables, rock types, and habitats within arid river catchments, we can hypothesize that the present intraspecific diversity may have evolved at least in part within the present refuge of the northern Namib Desert. The same study presents evidence based on stable isotope analysis for a preferential water origin from continental water sources (= rare summer thunderstorms). Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. Bombi, P., Salvi, D., Shuuya, T., Vignoli, L. & Wassenaar, T. Evidence of climate change impacts on the iconic Welwitschia mirabilis in the Namib Desert. [32], Indigenous people eat the cone of this plant by eating it raw or baking it in hot ashes. analyzed the data. Endeavor 31, 95–99 (1972). Arid Land 10, 663–672 (2018). popularmente conhecida como "polvo do deserto", que só existe no deserto do Namibe em Angola.As Welwitschias são plantas gnetófitas da classe Gnetopsida, pertencentes à ordem Welwitsciales e família Welwitschiaceae. ADS PubMed namibiana occurring in Namibia south of 18.7° and the typical ssp. Welwitschiaceae | Description, Genera, Species, Fossils, & Facts and JavaScript. Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. & Jürgens, N. Are molecular markers suitable to reveal the invasion history of the common iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, Aizoaceae)?. CAS The permanent leaves are opposite (at right angles to the cotyledons), amphistomatic (producing stomata on both sides of the leaf), parallel-veined and ribbon-shaped. The southernmost record was reported from 23.6°S near Homeb. Barbara Curtis helped with exact locality records in Namibia. However, Bornman21 reported that roots near the Brandberg do not extend deeper than 3 m. A recent study13 details the root architecture and water uptake of plants near the Swakop River. New northernmost, southernmost, and easternmost records have been made as well as new populations closer to the Atlantic coast than previously recorded. In some cases (e.g., Iona) the presence of Welwitschia fades out within a geological unit. Scientific Reports (Sci Rep) Welwitschia mirabilis is the only member of the family Welwitschiaceae. Welwitschia mirabilis is one of the most extraordinary plant species on earth. Based on first results, the data matrix with all 17 populations was split into two partial matrices: 1) all northern populations of Angola plus the northernmost Namibian populations (populations 1–5), and 2) the remaining Namibian populations (populations 6–17). Linn. It is native to a strip of land about 50 miles wide and over 500 miles in length along the coast of the Namib Desert. Its two permanent leaves are unique in the plant kingdom.They are the original leaves from when the plant was a seedling, and they just continue to grow and are never shed. The PCA of 19 scaled bioclimatic variables and geological units clearly separates the Angolan and Namibian range fragments. Land. Article The ~13C values of various C 3 and C 4 plants, of succulents and aphyllous shrubs, and of Reprint at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.19.955823v1 (2020). & Raven, P. H. Late Cretaceous and Tertiary vegetation history of Africa, in Biogeography and Ecology of Southern Africa (ed. Henchel, J.R. and M.K. [24][25], Welwitschia mirabilis is endemic to the Kaokoveld Desert,[26] which lies within the Namib Desert. 7.2.2: Conifers and Gnetophytes Bioscience 51, 11 (2001). The Berlin-Dahlem plants of "group 1" with reddish brown male cones agree with material from Angola and belong to Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. N. Armbruster, T. Drees and M. Zaborowski (2005). De-Welwitschie.ogg 2.1 s; 21 KB. Ecol. Hubisz, M. J., Falush, D., Stephens, M. & Pritchard, J. K. Inferring weak population structure with the assistance of sample group information. Pohlert, T. The pairwise mutiple comparison of mean ranks package (PMCMR). Earl, D. A. The isolation of range fragments is indicated by their distance in km. Using Primer3 Version 1.1.4.38, primers were designed in front of and behind the microsatellite motif to create PCR products between 100 and 350 bp. We added a Nemenyi post hoc test to identify significant differences among the single-range fragments. Most botanists have treated Welwitschia as a distinct monotypic genus in a monotypic family or even order. Bornman, C.H., J.A. Bornman, C. Welwitschia mirabilis: paradox of the Namib Desert. The stem diameter often surpasses 150 cm, but the stem height rarely surpasses 30 cm. Analyzing additional chloroplast or nuclear markers would be necessary to confirm our SSR results and should receive highest priority. 1a). Welwitschia seeds naturally develop suitably low water concentrations as they ripen. The seeds have been shown to display orthodox seed behavior, which in general means that they may be stored for long periods at suitably low humidity and temperature. Significant differences among populations of Welwitschia were identified by a one-way PERMANOVA45 with 9,999 permutations in PAST41,42. The Gnetales are an extremely heterogeneous taxonomic group with an isolated phylogenetic position among seed plants. Community ecology package. PubMed Central The field work was accompanied by targeted efforts to find potential Welwitschia populations using all available historical and recent information from collections, museums, literature9,11,12,14,27, and local people. Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. Van Jaarsveld, E. & Pond, U. Uncrowned monarch of the Namib: Welwitschia mirabilis (Penrock Publications, 2013). Google Scholar. Welwitschia: Phylogeography of a living fossil, diversified within a ... N.J. developed the project concept and did most of the fieldwork. The three genera exhibit great diversity in the immense variety of form and size among the various species. 3c, yellow) and cluster separately in the PCoA (3e), whereas other individuals are assigned to other gene pools (3c, red and green). Genet. Dilcher, D. L., Bernardes-De-Oliveira, M. E., Pons, D. & Lott, T. A. Welwitschiaceae from the lower Cretaceous of Northeastern Brazil. temperature of coldest month; BIO7 = annual temperature range (BIO5–BIO6); BIO8 = mean temperature of wettest quarter; BIO9 = mean temperature of driest quarter; BIO10 = mean temperature of warmest quarter; BIO11 = mean temperature of coldest quarter; BIO12 = annual precipitation; BIO13 = precipitation of wettest month; BIO14 = precipitation of driest month; BIO15 = precipitation seasonality (coefficient of variation); BIO16 = precipitation of wettest quarter; BIO17 = precipitation of driest quarter; BIO18 = precipitation of warmest quarter; BIO19 = precipitation of coldest quarter. Similarly, the southernmost record could be extended slightly to -23.63° latitude. Leuenberger, B. E. Welwitschia mirabilis (Welwitschiaceae), male cone characters and a new subspecies. In Angola we thank Fernanda Lages and Valter Chissingui at Instituto Superior de Ciências de Educação (ISCED, Lubango), and Margarida Ventura and Carlos Ribeiro and team from Instituto Superior Politécnico Tundavala (ISPT) for practical and administrative support. We found further genetic diversity within each of the two subspecies. Fields of sand dunes south of the Kuiseb River and near the coast between Torra Bay and Tombua also form an important limitation. The structure analysis of 112 plants of the northern subgroup (Fig. Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in Welwitschia mirabilis 327 Table 2. [16] The only branching in the shoot system occurs in the reproductive branches, which bear strobili. Sci Rep 11, 2385 (2021). Ecol. Arid Environ. In summary, Welwitschia is presently confined to the northern part of the Namib Desert, which had an arid to semiarid climate during the whole Quaternary and most of the Tertiary15. Seely (2000). Norbert Jürgens. Our results confirm genetic divergence, which is consistent with the hypothetical existence of two subspecies within Welwitschia. The most common of the true bugs attending Welwitschia is a member of the family Pyrrhocoridae, Probergrothius angolensis, but a hypothesized role in pollination has so far not been demonstrated. Small increases of acids over night as calculated from the gas exchange measurements are masked by the extremely uneven distribution of these acids in the leaves, making the feature of an overnight malic or citric acid accumulation an unsuited test for CAM in W. mirabilis. 11th Apr, 2022 Welwitschia mirabilis provides an important source of food to animals such as oryx, springbok, zebra, and black rhino in times of extreme drought. Rozen, S. & Skaletsky, H. J. Primer3 on the WWW for general users and for biologist programmers, in Bioinformatics Methods and Protocols: Methods in Molecular Biology (Humana, 2000). [3][4], Welwitschia is named after the Austrian botanist and doctor Friedrich Welwitsch, who described the plant in Angola in 1859. Despite its iconic role, the biogeography, ecological niche, and evolutionary history of the species remain poorly understood. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Fick, S. E. & Hijmans, R. J. WorldClim 2, new 1-km spatial resolution climate surfaces for global land areas. The split between the northern and southern subgroups is located in Namibia at 18.7°S, between the Ougams-5.2 and Ganias-6 populations (the bold white bar in Fig. http://www.rub.de/ecoevo/cm/cm_phobos.htm (2010). J. Syst. We thank SANBI and NBRI for digital herbarium records. Lithology: aeolian (1), basalt (2), calcareous (3), complex (5), gneiss (6), granite (7), mica (8), mudstone (9), quartzite (10), calcrete (11), sandstone (12), sand (13), volcanic (16). Botanik: Das Blatt der Welwitschie (Welwitschia mirabilis) In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles There are 65 species in the genus Ephedra, 30 or more in Gnetum, and only 1 in Welwitschia. The authors thank Susanne Renner (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, LMU) and Matthias Schultz (Herbarium Hamburgense, HBG) for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. However, the location of the discontinuity coincides with an important biogeographical limitation, namely the southern boundary of the Kaokoveld desert ecoregion26. [6], Although Welwitschia mirabilis is not at present immediately threatened, there being abundant populations over a large area, its status is far from secure; its recruitment and growth rates are low, and its range, though wide, covers only a single compact, ecologically limited and vulnerable area. Arnoldia 54, 2–10 (1994). A combined structure and structure harvester analysis of the same sample set also resulted in a “best K” of two, dividing the metapopulation of Welwitschia into two clearly separated and almost pure gene pools (Fig. PubMed Elling, B., Bertram, G., Rudolph, B. Climate change effects on desert ecosystems: A case study on the ... - PLOS Further research is needed to explain this biogeographical boundary with regards to Welwitschia and other taxa. 37, 4302–4315 (2017). Welwitschia is the most incredible plant that he encountered. Amazingly, some individual specimens of Welwitschia have been estimated to be 1,500 to 2,000 years old. The black line marks the border between Angola and Namibia. It should also be noted that this barrier is equidistant to the range fragments forming the largest aggregations by area in the north (Iona and Tombua–Virei) and south (Etendeka and Messum). A female Welwitschia beginning to shed seeds, Detail photograph of ripe female cones after seed dispersal, Detail photograph of male plant and cones, Person standing beside Welwitschia plant for scale, Cultivated at Huntington Library and botanical garden, A Welwitschia in the petrified forest of Khorixas (Namibia), Immature nymphs and adult Welwitschia bugs (Probergrothius angolensis), Welwitschia mirabilis - Toulouse Museum of Natural History, Coat of Arms of Namibia, with a Welwitschia in the bottom, For the Namibian national rugby union team nicknamed the Welwitschias, see. With a fossil record of 112 My and phylogenetically isolated within the order Gnetales, the monotypic genus Welwitschia has survived only in the northern Namib Desert in Angola and Namibia. Etendeka-8.1) representing all range fragments across the whole range in Angola and Namibia to study the genetic background of Welwitschia with six SSR markers. Article Article De Pamphilis, C. et al. South Afr. 1). For further analyses, all six SSR markers were combined in one 1/0 matrix. Similarly, the western boundary toward the coast of many range fragments (Tombua, Ougams, Uniab, Messum, Khan–Swakop) is defined by the extent to which inland gravel sediments in catchments or sheetwash plains spread over the coastal area. 3b). Genetics 155, 945–959 (2000). Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Ecohydrology 12, e2039 (2019). Description Welwitschia mirabilis is a dioecious plant with a short stem and only two opposite leaves produced from marginal grooves on the crown, each splitting into many parallel sections and twisting. De-Welwitschia.ogg 2.0 s; 20 KB. 69, 179–186 (2014). Distribution of Welwitschia mirabilis in Namibia and location of the study area. mirabilis; (d) structure analysis (K = 4) of W. m. ssp. We used samples from 17 populations (Fig. gnetophyte, (division Gnetophyta), any member of the division Gnetophyta, a small group of gymnospermous vascular plants that are represented by three living genera: Ephedra, Gnetum, and Welwitschia. Generation of ESTs from young male strobilus of Welwitschia mirabilis. Such small drainage channels attract runoff water and increased infiltration of water during rare rainfall events and allow the soil to retain water within and under its calcrete (and sometimes gypcrete) horizons13 during periods without rainfall. Therefore, the two taxa are correctly regarded as subspecies of Welwitschia mirabilis, with ssp. The range fragments are presented in Fig. Welwitschia is a monotypic genus (that is, a genus that contains a single recognised species) of gymnosperm, the sole described species being the distinctive Welwitschia mirabilis, endemic to the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola. Identify structures and phases in the Pinus life cycle; know their ploidy. 14, 2611–2620 (2005). Bombi, P. Potential impacts of climate change on Welwitschia mirabilis populations in the Namib Desert, southern Africa. [12] As the species does not produce yearly rings, plant age is determined by radiocarbon dating. namibiana share a strong though not obligate affinity to Etendeka basalts (Ganias, Etendeka, Messum). The structure analyses identified up to three gene pools for individuals from both subspecies in the large central range fragments (Fig. White numbers and names designate the locations of populations sampled for SSR analysis. Seedlings of Welwitschia mirabilis Hooker were grown from seeds collected on the Welwitschia Fläche at the confluence of the Khan and Swakop Rivers in South-West Africa. 3f. Biodivers. The phylogenetic age and isolation, the diversity of extinct relatives, and the huge biogeographical space allow us to regard the extant Welwitschia as a living fossil. Welwitschia is found only in the Namib desert of southwestern Africa near the coast of Angola and Namibia as well as inland to about 150 km (more than 90 miles). The 10-µl PCR mix included 1 × PCR buffer B, 0.2 mM dNTPs, 0.25 U "my-Budget Taq-DNA Polymerase" (from Bio-Budget Technologies GmbH, Krefeld, Germany), 2 µM of each primer, 10% DMSO, and 20 ng DNA. 3), irrespective of the algorithm applied. Therefore, their results neither support nor reject Leuenberger’s proposal. We also identify further diversification within each of the two subspecies, with several different gene pools in ten isolated range fragments. 3) from a southern subgroup (populations 6–17 in Namibia, on the right in Fig. Similarly, a study at Gobabeb22 did not show an influence of fog on leaf growth rate or germination. [23], In July 2021, the genome of Welwitschia was 98% sequenced, totaling 6.8 Gb on 21 chromosomes. (a) Is a satellite map of southwestern Africa from 12.5° to 24°S latitude. mirabilis found in Angola and the northwestern part of Namibia north of 18.7°. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81150-6. Samples were dried with silica gel in plastic bags. The SSR loci were also sequenced to furnish proof of the evidence of the microsatellite locus. Dinteria 3, 3–55 (1969). Rocky plains with shallow leptosols and rocky or stony slopes—especially at the lower end of a slope, often in sandy patches below granite boulders or other larger rock surfaces—are also found in some places. See the world's oldest organisms It Just Keeps On Going ...", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Welwitschia&oldid=1150817865, This page was last edited on 20 April 2023, at 09:26. Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Other threats include injury from off-road vehicles, collection of wild plants and overgrazing by zebras, rhinos, and domestic animals.[35]. The fungicide tebuconazole may be useful in controlling limited A. niger seed infection. Beyond that, the plant is often described as 'bizarre', 'weird', or 'unlike any known plant on earth'. The present diversity is minimal. Thank you for visiting nature.com. Based on current knowledge of the range and phylogenetic position, we seek to establish a new and complete biogeographical record. 1a). Trauth, M. H., Larrasoaña, J. C. & Mudelsee, M. Trends, rhythms and events in Plio-Pleistocene African climate. Henschel, J. R. et al. Some individuals may be more than 2,000 years old. Ephedra Gnetum Attribution Learning Objectives Use morphological features and life history traits to distinguish conifers from other plants. All populations show significant Bonferroni-corrected p-values (F = 6.83, p < 0.001) in a PERMANOVA comparison (Supplementary Tables S1 and S3). We used the ANOSIM procedure, which analyzes differences among the ranks of group centroids for a multivariate data set and effectively measures the overlap among the different clusters. Leuenberger7 recognized two subspecies of W. mirabilis ssp. Additionally, we explore the genetic similarities among seventeen range-wide populations using the first developed SSR markers for Welwitschia. The first two axes of the PCA already explain approximately 81.8% of the variation within the data set (Fig. Deserts have been predicted to be one of the most responsive ecosystems to global climate change. Welwitschia mirabilis subsp. Aust. At the largest spatial scale (Fig. Welwitschia Mirablilis: An Extraordinary Plant | Amusing Planet Boletim de Instituto de Angola 11, 53–66 (1958). Perhaps their potentially very long lifespan is essential and enables Welwitschia plants to outcompete other species that establish themselves only during cycles of moist years. The observable pattern of partly unique gene pools for subspecies populations in geographically isolated range fragments such as Kaoko, Khan–Swakop, and Kuiseb could indicate a long history of genetic isolation along a north–south corridor. Peak shifts in sizes of less than 1 bp were adjusted to the respective allele size manually. & von Holdt, B. M. Structure Harvester: a website and program for visualizing Structure output and implementing the Evanno method. The plant also provides shade to snakes and lizards. Evanno, G., Regnaut, S. & Goudet, J. Detecting the number of clusters of individuals using the software Structure: a simulation study. for anchorage. The complete data matrix was divided into two data matrices as described earlier. Hooker, J. D. On Welwitschia, a new genus of Gnetaceae. [1] Plants in Angola are better protected than those in Namibia, because the relatively high concentration of land mines in Angola keep collectors away. Welwitschia is the only living genus of the family Welwitschiaceae and order Welwitschiales in the division Gnetophyta, and is one of three living genera in .
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