Ben-Erik van Wyk

FAAS Function as a service (FaaS) is a category of cloud computing services that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage application functionalities without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typical ...

(born 27 December 1956 in Bellville) is a South African professor of indigenous

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and

traditional African medicine Traditional African medicine is a range of traditional medicine disciplines involving Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous herbalism and Traditional African religions, African spirituality, typically including divination, diviners, midwives, ...

at the University of Johannesburg.

Early life and education

Ben-Erik van Wyk was born on 27 December 1956 in Bellville, South Africa. In 1979, he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

and Nature Conservation. In 1983, he graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

with a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

. In 1989, he obtained a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

Career and research

Since 1984, Van Wyk has been teaching at the

Rand Afrikaans University The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surroundings from 1967 to 2004. It has since merged with the Technikon Witwatersrand ...

, where he has been a professor since 1990. Since 2005 he has been a professor at the Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology,

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Te ...

, where the Rand Afrikaans University has been absorbed. Van Wyk researches African plant plant classification (

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

and

chemotaxonomy Webster's Dictionary, Merriam-Webster defines ''chemotaxonomy'' as the method of biology, biological classification based on similarities and dissimilarity in the structure of certain chemical compound, compounds among the organisms being classifi ...

) particularly for

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

Aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...

'','' and

Asphodelaceae Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 40 ...

. In addition, he focuses on medicinal plants and

ethnobotany Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

, including the ethnobotany of

Khoisan Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...

and

Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

from the Western Cape. He is also involved in quality control and product development of

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against her ...

products and crop development. Through 600 vibrant photographs of more than 120 distinct culinary herbs, spices, and flavourings that Van Wyk has collected from the distant reaches; his books transport us back to the earliest uses of spices by ancient civilisations and lead us on a journey of discovery from Ethiopia to China. Van Wyk is a member of several organizations, including the ''Aloe Council of South Africa'' (Chair), the

American Society of Plant Taxonomists The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a botanical organization formed in 1935 to "foster, encourage, and promote education and research in the field of plant taxonomy, to include those areas and fields of study that contribute to and b ...

, the

Botanical Society of America The Botanical Society of America (BSA) represents professional and amateur botanists, researchers, educators and students in over 80 countries of the world. It functions as a United States nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership society. History The soci ...

, the Indigenous Plant Use Forum (Chair since 1996), the ''Association for African Medicinal Plant Standards'', ''Briza Publications CC,'' and the ''Presidential Task Team on African Traditional Medicine''. He is a Member of the Editorial Board of the

South African Journal of Botany The ''South African Journal of Botany'' (Afrikaans title: ''Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir plantkunde'') is a bimonthly peer reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of botany as related to Southern Africa. It is published by Elsevier on beha ...

, the Official Journal of the South African Association of Botanists.

Awards and honours

Van Wyk has received several awards, including the ''Schlich Medal'' in 1980, the ''FRD President's Award'' in 1991, the '' Havenga prize'' for Biology from the South African Academy of Science and Art in 2006, the ''Silver Medal'' from the

South African Association of Botanists South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

in 2007, and the ''Medal of Honor'' from the Faculty of Natural Science and Technology of the South African Academy of Science and Art in 2011. Van Wyk was elected a Fellow of the

African Academy of Sciences The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit, pan-African learned society formed in 1985. The AAS elects fellows ( FAAS) and affiliates. The AAS also awards the Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and ...

in 2013.

Publications

Van Wyk has (co-)authored more than two hundred articles in scientific journals and (co-)authored more than 180

botanical names A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Internat ...

. His books and commentary have been published in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

, German, Polish and Korean, in addition to the English-language editions.

References

External links

Medicinal plants
with Prof Ben-Erik van Wyk - YouTube {{authority control Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences South African scientists 1956 births Living people University of Johannesburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Johannesburg South African botanists 21st-century South African botanists