Biography

South African botanist. Ernst van Jaarsveld was born in Johannesburg, Transvaal, and completed a National Diploma in Horticulture at Pretoria Technicon in 1975, a MSc in Systematics at Natal University in 1990, before beginning a PhD, supervised by Professor Abraham van Wyk, at the University of Pretoria where he is studying the adaptations of succulent plants that grow on cliffs. Since 1974 he has been an employee of the National Botanical Gardens, for the first two years at Lowveld National Botanical Gardens (Mpumalanga) and subsequently at Kirstenbosch.

A specialist in succulent plants and other drought-adapted flora, especially from the family Lamiaceae, he actively promotes ecological gardening and the cultivation of xerophytic species. For this purpose, he travels widely in South Africa collecting plants with potential ornamental uses, many of which have been successfully introduced into cultivation. His work has taken him to all the provinces, especially Namaqualand, Little Karoo, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, and Zwaziland. Some of these expeditions were done on foot over long distances – a 55km trek to Slangpoortand, led to the discovery of many new records for Namibia, such as Cussonia angolensis Hiern. and Ficus bubu Warb., and of some new species; others have involved climbing mountain peaks and cliffs (Brandberg, Baynes Mountains, Mulange , Blouberg, Drakensberg and many western Cape and Namaqua mountains) or long canoe trips (the Mzimvubu River in Transkei).

At Kirstenbosch he is responsible for the Botanical Society Conservatory, which opened in 1996 and for which he received the NBI's Chairman Award. The conservatory is designed to represent all the major arid biomes of South Africa and Namibia, and includes geological rock formations that demonstrate the region's great diversity in succulents, as well as their adaptations and ethnic uses.

Van Jaarsveld is the author of several books and more than 200 articles on succulents and botanical exploration, including articles in three volumes of the ISO Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants, a series of monthly articles on indigenous plants for Die Sarie, regular contributions to South African Gardening and Veld & Flora, and weekly columns in Buiteburger and Huisguids. He belongs to the Cactus and Succulent Society of America and the South African Succulent Society, and has participated in both the Species Survival Commission (IUCN) and the International Organization for Succulent Plant Study (IOS). His awards include the Hans Herre Medal from the Succulent Society of South Africa, the Senior Captain Scott in 2003 for his research on South African plants, and the Dudley D'Ewes Medal for the promotion of South African plants. Alone and with others, he has described more than 80 taxa, three of which have distributions that extend into Namibia. He is named in a number of species including Anginon jaarsveldii B.L. Burtt, Plectranthus ernstii Codd, and Eriosperum ernstii P.L. Perry.

Sources:
Personal communication, August 2006.