Meanings
plural welwitschias
- Any member of the species Welwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouncurious plant of arid regions of southwestern Africa having a yard-high and yard-wide trunk like a turnip with a deep taproot and two large persistent woody straplike leaves growing from the base; living relic of a flora long disappeared; some may be 700-5000 years old
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From the genus name Welwitschia, after Austrian explorer and botanist Friedrich Welwitsch.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 百歲蘭 /百岁兰, 千歲蘭 /千岁兰
- 百歲蘭 /百岁兰 (bǎisuìlán)Welwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa
- 千歲蘭 /千岁兰 (qiānsuìlán)Welwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa
Japanese 奇想天外, 砂漠万年青
- 奇想天外 (kisōtengai)Welwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa
- 砂漠万年青 (sabakuomoto)Welwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa
- ウェルウィッチア (weruwicchia)Welwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa
Korean 웰위치아
- 웰위치아 (werwichia)Welwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa
Portuguese welwitschia
- welwitschiaWelwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa
Vietnamese bách lan
- bách lanWelwitschia mirabilis, a desert plant of southwest Africa
Cite this entry
welwitschia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/welwitschia
“welwitschia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/welwitschia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “welwitschia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/welwitschia.
Source: welwitschia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.