Welwitschia is a monotypic gymnosperm genus, comprising solely the distinctive Welwitschia mirabilis. The plant is commonly known simply as welwitschia in English, but the name tree tumbo is also used. It is called kharos or khurub in Nama, tweeblaarkanniedood in Afrikaans, nyanka in Damara, and onyanga in Herero. Welwitschia is the only living genus of the family Welwitschiaceae and order Welwitschiales, in the division Gnetophyta. Informal sources commonly refer to the plant as a "living fossil". Welwitschia mirabilis is endemic to the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola.