Edward George Hudson Oliver | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 14, 1938 |
| Alma mater | University of Cape Town |
| Known for | expert in genus Erica in the family Ericaceae recognized world authority on the subfamily Ericoideae |
Edward (Ted) George Hudson Oliver, (1938- ) is a South African Botanist and author. He is an expert in heathers. He has discovered and named several species. Oliver is the recognized world authority on the subfamily Ericoideae. [1]
Oliver was born 14 October 1938 in Rondebosch. He was educated at Bishops College from 1947 to 1957. He obtained an MSc and PhD (in Botany) from the University of Cape Town. [1]
From 1946 to 1966 he was appointed Curator of the Government Herbarium in Stellenbosch. He was the South African Liaison Botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London from 1967 to 1969. [1]
He returned to South Africa in 1970 and worked as a Research Taxonomist in Stellenbosch until 1976 when he moved to Pretoria to take up the position of Curator of the National Herbarium until 1982. [1]
He returned to Stellenbosch in 1982 and again took up the position of Research Taxonomist. From 1984 to 1996 he was again appointed Curator of the Government Herbarium in Stellenbosch. He then moved to Kirstenbosch and was appointed the Research taxonomist at the Compton Herbarium of the National Botanical Institute at Kirstenbosch, a position he held until 2006. [1]
Oliver was married to Inge M. Oliver (née Nitzsche), who died in 2003. They have a son and two daughters. Oliver enjoys gardening, hiking and classical music. His favourite quote is "Ex Africa semper aliquid novi" - Out of Africa always something new.
Oliver published more than 100 papers in various botanical journals. [1] Three of his contributions are:
Three of the books that he co-authored are:
Erica oliveri is named after him and was first identified in 1961. [1]
Three of the species described by him are:
Erica is a genus of roughly 857 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names heath and heather are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance. The genus Calluna was formerly included in Erica – it differs in having even smaller scale-leaves, and the flower corolla consisting of separate petals. Erica is sometimes referred to as "winter heather" to distinguish it from Calluna "summer heather".
Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Prior to 1 September 2004, the institute was known as the National Botanical Institute.
Robert Harold Compton was a South African botanist. The Compton Herbarium at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, which he founded in Cape Town in 1939, was named in his honour.
Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Pappe was a German-born physician and botanist who lived and worked in South Africa. He was the first person to hold the position of government botanist and the first professor of botany at the South African College. His herbarium became the oldest surviving botanical collection in South Africa.
Henry Harold Welch Pearson was a British-born South African botanist, chiefly remembered for founding Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in 1913.
The Bolus Herbarium was established in 1865 from a donation by Harry Bolus of his extensive herbarium and library to the South African College, which later became the University of Cape Town.
Olive Mary Hilliard is a noted South African botanist and taxonomist. Hilliard authored 372 land plant species names, the fifth-highest number of such names authored by any female scientist.
Hilliardia is a monotypic genus of South African flowering plants in the daisy family. It only contains one known species, Hilliardia zuurbergensis(Oliv.) B.Nord.
Harriet Margaret Louisa BolusnéeKensit was a South African botanist and taxonomist, and the longtime curator of the Bolus Herbarium, from 1903. Bolus also has the legacy of authoring more land plant species than any other female scientist, in total naming 1,494 species.
Erica abietina is a species of erica that is endemic to the Cape Peninsula of the Western Cape, South Africa. E. abietina includes four subspecies with often highly restricted distributions and distinctive flower colours. Previous delimitation of the species has included a further three subspecies which proved to be more distantly related to Cape Peninsula endemic E. abietina subspecies and are now classified under Erica grandiflora L.f. and Erica situshiemalis E.G.H.Oliv. & Pirie.
Erica ventricosa is a species of plant in the family Ericaceae native to the Afrotropics.
The Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden located in the historical center of Stellenbosch is the oldest university botanical garden in South Africa. The Garden is relatively small and houses an enormous diversity of plants, both indigenous to South Africa and introduced species. It is open to the public.
Peter Goldblatt is a South African botanist, working principally in the United States.
Gwendoline Joyce Lewis (1909–1967) was a South African botanist.
Graham Dugald Duncan(born 1959) is a South African botanist and specialist bulb horticulturalist at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town, South Africa.
Erica grandiflora is a species of Erica found in fynbos on the mainland Western Cape, South Africa. E. grandiflora was described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782, and was reclassified as Erica abietina subsp. aurantiaca by Oliver & Oliver in 2002. More recently, phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data have revealed that it is more closely related to mainland Western Cape species including Erica viscaria than it is to Cape Peninsula endemic Erica abietina subspecies, and should therefore be treated as a separate species. It includes two subspecies which can be most easily distinguished on the basis of their distinctive flower colours.
Dr. Charlotte M. Taylor is a botanist and professor specialising in taxonomy and conservation. She works with the large plant family Rubiaceae, particularly found in the American tropics and in the tribes Palicoureeae and Psychotrieae. This plant family is an economically important group, as it includes plant species used to make coffee and quinine. Taylor also conducts work related to the floristics of Rubiaceae and morphological radiations of the group. Taylor has collected plant samples from many countries across the globe, including Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, and the United States of America, and has named many new species known to science from these regions. As of 2015, Taylor has authored 278 land plant species' names, the seventh-highest number of such names authored by any female scientist.
John Patrick Rourke FMLS is a South African botanist, who worked at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and became curator of the Compton Herbarium. He is a specialist in the flora of the Cape Floristic Region, in particular the family Proteaceae.
Dierdré "Dee" Anne Snijman is a South African botanist and plant taxonomist who is notable for studying and writing extensively on bulbs. She has described over 120 species and has written comprehensive works on South African flora. She received the 1997 Herbert Medal from the International Bulb Society for her research on Amaryllis.
Winsome Fanny Barker was an South African botanist and plant collector noted for her work as Curator building the collection at the herbarium of the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, as well as her research on Amaryllidaceae, Liliaceae and Haemodoraceae.
