Leaf length4 m
308Sugar cubes
1.67Forklift lengths
160,000Pollen grain widths
Before wind damage
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Welwitschia
A desert plant with only two leaves that never stop growing/Plants
Welwitschia mirabilis is a gymnosperm found only in the Namib Desert of Namibia and Angola. Despite living for over 1,000 years, it produces only two leaves in its entire lifetime. These strap-like leaves grow continuously from the base at about 13 cm per year but are worn away at the tips by wind and sand, resulting in a tangled, shredded mass up to 4 meters long. The plant's taproot can reach 3 meters deep. Charles Darwin reportedly called it 'the platypus of the plant kingdom.'
Measurements
Stem diameter1 m
18.5Credit card widths
1.7 billionAspirin molecules
Taproot depth3 m
3.28Tennis nets
1.8 quadrillionProton diameters
30.9Softball diameters
Maximum age63.1 billion s
27.4Human lifespans
21 billionGoldfish memories
300 millionPop songs
Over 2,000 years
Leaf growth rate4.1 billionths m/s
1.5 billionthsCasual joggers
2.56Tectonic plates
About 13 cm per year
Total leaves2 leaves
1Pair of socks
2 tenthsBowling pins
1.7 tenthsEggs in a carton