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8 plants worth knowing

Namibia

Namibia is one of the driest countries in Africa: the Namib Desert with its red dunes runs along the coast, and many plants there survive thanks to fog rolling in from the ocean. Inland stretch dry savanna with acacias, stony uplands with aloes and succulent shrubs, and the Kalahari in the east, while only the far north, with the Zambezi region, has moister woodland and floodplains.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Welwitschia 1

    shrub · Plant on the coat of arms of Namibia

    Welwitschia

    Welwitschia mirabilis

    In a life that can last over a thousand years it grows just two leaves – welwitschia is a living fossil of the Namib and a symbol of Namibia.
  2. Quiver tree 2

    succulent

    Quiver tree

    Aloidendron dichotomum

    Silhouettes of quiver trees against a star-filled sky are one of the most photographed sights in southern Namibia.
  3. Camel thorn 3

    tree

    Camel thorn

    Vachellia erioloba

    Dead black trees on the white clay of Deadvlei, ringed by red dunes, have stood there for centuries – one of Namibia’s iconic sights.
  4. Nara melon 4

    shrub

    Nara melon

    Acanthosicyos horridus

    A leafless, thorny shrub of the Namib dunes bears juicy melons on which the Topnaar people have depended for centuries.
  5. Phantom tree 5

    tree

    Phantom tree

    Moringa ovalifolia

    The white, pot-bellied trunks of the moringas in Etosha’s “Fairy-tale Forest” look as if they were growing upside down, roots in the air.
  6. Devil’s claw 6

    perennial

    Devil’s claw

    Harpagophytum procumbens

    Namibia is the world’s largest exporter of devil’s claw – medicinal root tubers gathered on the sands of the Kalahari.
  7. Makalani palm 7

    palm

    Makalani palm

    Hyphaene petersiana

    Fan-leaved makalani palms define the landscape of the Owambo plains – their nuts are carved into souvenirs and their sap made into palm wine.
  8. Marula 8

    tree

    Marula

    Sclerocarya birrea

    The Owambo people make the drink omagongo from marula fruit, and its season is celebrated every year at the Omagongo festival in the north.