Friedrich Welwitsch

Austrian botanist and explorer (1806-1872).

Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch (25 February 1806 – 20 October 1872) was an Austrian Empire explorer and botanist who in Angola was the first European to describe the plant Welwitschia mirabilis. His report received wide attention among the botanists and general public, comparable only to the discovery of two other plants in the 19th century, namely Victoria amazonica and Rafflesia arnoldii. In Angola, Welwitsch also discovered Rhipsalis baccifera, the only cactus species naturally occurring outside the New World. It was found a few years later in Sri Lanka too, which reignited the now alread