Marie Jordaan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marie Prins 1948 |
| Education | University of Stellenbosch University of Pretoria |
| Known for | Botany, Spermatophytes, Gymnosporia, Celastraceae |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | National Herbarium South African National Biodiversity Institute |
Marie Prins (born 1948, married name Marie Jordaan) is a South African botanist. [1]
Prins graduated from the University of Stellenbosch with a BSc in Botany. She completed her BSc(Hons) and MSc at the University of Pretoria. She obtained a PhD in botany with a thesis on Spikethorns of the world (Gymnosporia, Celastraceae). She was also involved in the development of a website containing information on South African trees aimed at both amateurs and scientists. [2]
She assisted the authors with research for the book "Trees and Shrubs of Mpumalanga and The Kruger Park", published in 2002. She also corrected instances in the book where a plant had previously been described as a new variety and was later reclassified as a new species. [3] [4]
She worked at the South African National Biodiversity Institute [5] and in 1999, she was listed as a Scientific officer for the National Herbarium involved in plant identification services and curation of the collection of flora, with special interest trees of southern Africa. [6]
One study that Prins was involved in included 14 of the 17 genera accepted in the family Combretaceae, including 101 species and subspecies, in an effort to determine phylogenetic relationships. [7] Samples were collected from field trips to:
Cultivated samples were also included from
From 2008, Prins was involved in the annual summer-rainfall four-day workshop of the SANBI at Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal. She presented a Gymnosporia identification course for CREW (Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers) volunteers, students and members of the provincial conservation agencies. [8]
In 2018 the Botanical Society of South Africa awarded Prins funding for "a taxonomic revision of part of the genus Olea". Taxonomy provides critical basic information to other branches of Botany (including conservation, environmental management and education) but is considered one of the least desirable parts of Botany and hence funding is difficult to obtain. The genus Olea had last been revised in 1963. [9]
Prins has published extensively in the following journals: [11]
Mpumalanga is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area. It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela. Mpumalanga was formed in 1994, when the Eastern Transvaal was merged with KaNgwane. Although the contemporary borders of the province were only formed at the end of apartheid, the region and its surroundings has a history that extends back thousands of years. Much of its history, and current significance is as a region of trade.
Seemannaralia gerrardii, commonly known as the wild-maple or mock carrot tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is the sole member of genus Seemannaralia, and is endemic to South Africa, where it occurs in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. It was originally included in genus Cussonia. Seemann- and gerrardii commemorate Berthold Seemann and William Gerrard respectively, while -aralia suggests the family or its type genus, Aralia.
The Barberton groundsel or succulent bush senecio is an evergreen succulent shrub of the family Asteraceae and genus Senecio, native to Southern Africa, named after one of its native localities Barberton and is now also being cultivated elsewhere for its drought resistance, clusters of sweetly scented, golden-yellow, tufted flower heads in winter and attractiveness to butterflies, the painted lady butterfly in particular.
Gymnosporia is an Old World genus of plants, that comprise suffrutices, shrubs and trees. It was formerly considered congeneric with Maytenus, but more recent investigations separated it based on the presence of achyblasts and spines, alternate leaves or fascicles of leaves, an inflorescence that forms a dichasium, mostly unisexual flowers, and fruit forming a dehiscent capsule, with an aril on the seed. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.
Protea comptonii, also known as saddleback sugarbush, is a smallish tree of the genus Protea in the family Proteaceae. It is found in South Africa and Eswatini.
Vitellariopsis is a group of plants in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1915. The genus is native to eastern and southern Africa.
Abraham Erasmus van Wyk, also known as Braam van Wyk is a South African plant taxonomist. He has been responsible for the training of a significant percentage of the active plant taxonomists in South Africa and has also produced the first electronic application (app) for the identification of trees in southern Africa.
Inez Clare Verdoorn was a South African botanist and taxonomist, noted for her major revisions of plant families and genera. She is also a niece of Eugene Nielen Marais, lawyer, naturalist, poet and writer.
Prosphytochloa is a genus of African plants in the grass family. The only known species is Prosphytochloa prehensilis, native to Eastern Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo.
The Durban Botanic Gardens is situated in the city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is Durban's oldest public institution and Africa's oldest surviving botanical gardens. The gardens cover an area of 15 hectares in a subtropical climate.
Lagarosiphon is a genus of aquatic plants described as a genus in 1841. It is native to Africa and Madagascar. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate plants.
Haworthiopsis limifolia, formerly Haworthia limifolia, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Haworthiopsis, native to southern Africa and first described in 1910.
The KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden is situated along Mayor's Walk, in the western suburbs of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The identification code of the KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden as a member of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), as well as the initials of its herbarium is NBGN .
There have been a number of political assassinations in post-apartheid South Africa. In 2013 it was reported that there had been more than 450 political assassinations in the province of KwaZulu-Natal since the end of apartheid in 1994. In July 2013 the Daily Maverick reported that there had been "59 political murders in the last five years". In August 2016 it was reported that there had been at least twenty political assassinations in the run up to the local government elections on the 3rd of August that year, most of them in KwaZulu-Natal.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal Botanical Garden located in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal was established in 1983. Although the Garden was established to support research and conservation of indigenous plants, the Garden is open to the public.
Aloe modesta is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. This plant is rare and only known in Mpumalanga and northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Dianthus basuticus, called the Drakensberg carnation, Lesotho carnation, Lesotho pink, hlokoa‑la‑tsela in the Sesotho language and Lesothose wilde angelier in Afrikaans, is a species of Dianthus native to South Africa and Lesotho.
Brian John Huntley is a retired professor and conservation scientist from South Africa who helped to develop and transform African national parks. He played a big role in expanding the National Botanical Institute to become an authoritative repository on South African flora and fauna. As an independent expert, he was a consultant for agencies and international organizations, including the United Nations, with regard to nature conservation. He himself took part in multiple conservation projects around Africa.
