And now his team has found similar evidence in Namibia, according to a new paper published in the journal Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.

Plant water stress, not termite herbivory, causes Namibia’s fairy circles. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics , 2022; 125698 DOI: 10.1016/j.ppees.2022.125698 Cite This Page : ...

South Africa and Namibia houses most of the rare species of plants called succulents. These plants are found in the Succulent Karoo desert, which spans both countries.

Technically, it’s a coniferous dwarf tree related to the pine. But really, the Welwitschia pretty much looks like a heap of garden refuse dumped in the middle of the Namib Desert.

Scientists have puzzled over the origin of Namibia’s fairy circles for nearly half a century. It boiled down to two main theories: either termites were responsible, or plants were somehow ...

Scientists have gone back and forth for decades on the cause behind the Namib Desert’s mysterious “fairy circles.” A new study offers what may finally be evidence for a clear explanation.

Technically, it’s a coniferous dwarf tree related to the pine. But really, the Welwitschia pretty much looks like a heap of garden refuse dumped in the middle of the Namib Desert.

They’re found nowhere else in the world apart from a narrow, 200-kilometre strip of desert stretching from southern Angola to the nearby Tropic of Capricorn in Namibia’s north.

Scientists have gone back and forth for decades on the cause behind the Namib Desert’s mysterious “fairy circles.” A new study offers what may finally be evidence for a clear explanation.