Jos Stevens Private Collection
Jos Stevens is a Catholic Priest of the Salvatorian Fathers. Father Stevens worked as a missionary in the inland of Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo, from 1961 to 1998 and again from 2003 to 2012. Through his work, Father Stevens came to know many plants by their vernacular name. During his most recent stay, he took photographs of the plants in the vicinity of Ferme Randu (The “Randu Farm” (16000 hectares / 39535 acres) and the surrounding area in the southwest of Katanga. Upon his return to Belgium, Father Stevens began identifying the scientific names of the flora he photographed using books and online resources, and with the help of Mark Hyde (Flora Zimbabwe, Flora Mozambique) and Mike Bingham (Flora Zambia).
Father Stevens contacted JSTOR to provide information that was missing from the record Macaranga saccifera Pax in Flora of Tropical Africa (http://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.flora.flota011397). The record indicates “female flowers unknown”- thanks to Father Stevens, this is no longer the case. Father Stevens has generously provided JSTOR with copies of 1,340 images representing over 300 plant species from more than 80 families and 220 genera. Father Stevens also contributes to the Flora of Zambia.