4 ms·
A plant that cannot die
- baybal2 5y agomidnightcity, who are you, may I ask?
- rspoerri 5y agoI bet in my hands I can prove the opposite
- vincnetas 5y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welwitschia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welwitschia
- inanutshellus 5y ago> known as weeblaarkanniedood in Afrikaans Gonna have to remember that for the next time I stub a toe or step on a Lego...
- klyrs 5y agoContrast to the breathless headline, > 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. The remarkable longevity of Welwitschia favours its survival of temporary periods adverse to reproduction, but it offers no protection against circumstances of direct threat, such as overgrazing and disease. Fungal infection of female cones severely reduces seed viability, reducing already inherently low recruitment. Other threats include injury from off-road vehicles, collection of wild plants and overgrazing by zebras, rhinos, and domestic animals.
- SamBam 5y agoI don't think it's a needlessly "breathless" headline. Some of the individual plants are over 2000 years old. That's incredible for a non-tree organism, particularly one that lives in the middle of the desert. But yes, in the end the anthropocene will come for all organisms.
- jemfinch 5y agoAre we really supposed to be saying "millenniums" now, or is the Independent's editor asleep at the wheel?
- Kye 5y agoMillenniums is less common, but still valid. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millennium https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millennium >> "plural millennia\ mə- ˈle- nē- ə \ or millenniums" Dictionaries are based on real-world usage, so a lexicographer found enough usage to print it.
- kwhitefoot 5y agoThe relevant dictionaries for an article in the UK Independent would be the OED, Collins, or Cambridge. https://www.lexico.com/definition/millennium https://www.lexico.com/definition/millennium https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/millennia https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/millenn... https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/millennia https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/millenni...
- Kye 5y agoI couldn't find freely-available online versions of those when I looked. They all say milleniums is valid.