Abraham Erasmus van Wyk explained

Abraham Erasmus van Wyk
Birth Place:Wolmaransstad
Workplaces:Curator of HGWJ Schweickerdt Herbarium
Education:Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education
Alma Mater:University of Pretoria
Thesis Title:Contributions towards a new classification of Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae) in southern Africa
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Thesis Year:1985
Doctoral Advisor:Hannes Robbertse
Pieter Kok
Known For:Plant taxonomy
Author Abbrev Bot:A.E.van Wyk
Spouse:Elsa van Wyk (née Maritz)
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Children:2

Abraham Erasmus van Wyk, also known as Braam van Wyk (born 1952, Wolmaransstad) 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.

Education and career

Van Wyk was born in 1952 in Wolmaransstad, North-West Province, South Africa and grew up on a maize (corn) and cattle farm. In 1973, he completed a BSc (Botany, Zoology, Physiology) at Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PCHO), followed by a BSc (Hons) in 1974, a Higher Diploma in Education in 1976 and a MSc (Botany) in 1977 (supervised by DJ Botha). All of the degrees he completed at PCHO with obtained with distinction. He then went on to the University of Pretoria where he obtained his PhD in botany with a thesis on the classification of the genus Eugenia (Myrtaceae) in southern Africa.

Since 1977 he has been associated with the botany department of the University of Pretoria, where in 1989 he was appointed Professor of Botany and Curator of the H.G.W.J. Schweickerdt Herbarium of the university.

He has presented many academic and public lectures and courses on a variety of botanical topics. He has also regularly contributed to the Southern African Botanical Diversity Network (SABONET) project. Van Wyk enjoys making biology accessible to the public and has participated in a weekly science programme on radio for 18 years.

Van Wyk taught the following courses at University of Pretoria in 2012: BOT 251 Southern African flora and vegetation, BOT 366 Plant diversity, BOT 741 Plant taxonomy, BOT 742 Plant classification, and ZEN 809 Biogeography and macro ecology.

Research projects

Van Wyk's research project areas include Myrtaceae, Celastraceae, Icacinaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Araceae and are conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, Pondoland, Maputaland, Sekhukhuneland and the northeastern Drakensberg Escarpment. His research focuses on morphology, anatomy, pollen analysis, developmental biology, reproductive biology and biogeography.Myrtus communis.jpg|Myrtaceae Celastrus orbiculatus.jpg|CelastraceaeIcacina senegalensis MS 4743.JPG|IcacinaceaeXanthosoma sagittifolium at Kadavoor.jpg|Araceae

Publications

Van Wyk has published, often with his postgraduate students, in a number of botanical subdisciplines, including anatomy, biography, bibliography, taxonomy, nomenclature, embryology, phytogeography, palynology, reproductive biology, phytosociology, systematics, floristics and ecology. He has authored (or co-authored) over 390 works on botany of Southern Africa including the following books:

Awards and acknowledgement

External links