8. Welwitschia
In 1863, a Keeper of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, described this plant as ‘without question the most wonderful plant ever brought to this country, and one of the ugliest’. It is the plant with the longest lifespan. Some individuals are over 1500 years old. The plant only produces two leaves, but through the years those leaves will split into many segments as a result of wind erosion.
On the next page you’ll find a gorgeous flower shaped like a heart.