Remote Sensing bears the potential to contribute towards identification and mapping of endemic and endangered plant species. This study assesses the spatial distribution of Welwitschia mirabilis, an ancient desert plant species, in its natural habitat, Africa's Namib desert. Welwitschia mirabilis is one of the oldest plants in existence; some plants reach an age of up to 1500 years. Considered as a living fossil, the plant is difficult to map both due to the fragile ecosystem in which it lives, and the fact that a large part of its indigenous area is inaccessible as a result of diamond mining. In a first step, various Welwitschia individuals from botanical institutions within Switzerland are spectrally characterized using an ASD FieldSpec3 spectroradiometer. These data sets are investigated to a) identify potential spectral differences within and among individuals and b) elaborate possible common spectral characteristics of the genus usable for remote sensing recognition.