Jen had trekked all day across the Namib Desert looking for the perfect welwitschia plant to photograph before finally spotting this ragged-leaved subject. Adopting a low, wide angle, she caught the plant’s architecture and vibrant tones against the expansive landscape, just as the Sun was going down. ‘It’s like something out of a Dr Seuss book,’ she says.
The weird and wonderful welwitschia plant can live for up to 1,000 years. Growing from the base, it is comprised of just two slow-growing leaves that creep over the desert throughout the lifetime of the plant. As the centuries take their toll, the leaf ends fray and split taking on the appearance of multiple leaves.
Germany / USA
Jen is an ecologist and photographer with a passion for wildlife conservation and communication. She spends much of the year working in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. She is a National Geographic Young Explorer and has a master's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University, where she is also pursuing her PhD.
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