Marloth Medal awarded to botanist

PROFESSOR Neil Crouch was presented with the Marloth Medal in a light-hearted ceremony at the Durban Botanic Gardens recently.

The presentation was hastily convened to coincide with the visit to Durban of new national Council Chair of the Botanical Society, Marinda Nel.

The Marloth Medal is awarded to any person, professional or amateur botanist, who has produced significant literature of a popular nature to stimulate public interest in the indigenous flora of southern Africa.

The medal commemorates Dr Rudolph Marloth, pharmacist, analytical chemist and botanist who published much on the flora, his most famous contribution being the Flora of South Africa, which appeared in six magnificently illustrated volumes between 1913 and 1932.

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Prof Crouch was nominated by Professors Gideon Smith and AE (Braam) van Wyk, for his work across a broad section of flora, including ferns, succulents and medicinal plants. He has served as the scientific editor of PlantLife and is a trustee of the Botanical Education Trust.

On accepting the medal, Prof Crouch said that it was through interactions with other people that he had become excited about plants and had wanted to share the information.

“People like Geoff Nichols, Ian Garland and Elsa Pooley passed on their passion to me. I enjoyed collaborating with all my many co-authors, such as Gideon Smith and John and Sandie Burrows. I acknowledge and thank all those I worked with. Even a small interaction can have a big impact. I hope to see others ‘picking up the torch’ in the future and speaking and writing on behalf of local plants and their environment,” he said.

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