Edward (Ted) George Hudson Oliver, (1938- ) is a South African

Botanist 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 wo ...

and author. He is an expert in

heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 American black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and ...

. He has discovered and named several species. Oliver is the recognized world authority on the subfamily Ericoideae. Bell Heather - geograph

Life and career

Oliver was born 14 October 1938 in Rondebosch. He was educated at Bishops College from 1947 to 1957. He obtained an MSc and PhD (in Botany) 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 ...

. From 1946 to 1966 he was appointed Curator of the Government Herbarium in Stellenbosch. He was the South African Liaison Botanist at the

Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botany, botanical research and education institution, it employ ...

in London from 1967 to 1969. He returned to South Africa in 1970 and worked as a Research Taxonomist in Stellenbosch until 1976 when he moved to Pretoria to take up the position of Curator of the National Herbarium until 1982. He returned to Stellenbosch in 1982 and again took up the position of Research Taxonomist. From 1984 to 1996 he was again appointed Curator of the Government Herbarium in Stellenbosch. He then moved to Kirstenbosch and was appointed the Research taxonomist at the Compton Herbarium of the National Botanical Institute at Kirstenbosch, a position he held until 2006.

Awards and accolades

*President of the National Botanical Society of South Africa, retired 2013 *Honorary Life Member of the National Botanical Society of South Africa *Honorary Membership of the British Heather Society *Molteno Gold Medal 2009 (Cape Tercentenary Foundation) for his ''Ericaceae'' research

Personal life

Oliver was married to Inge M. Oliver (née Nitzsche), who died in 2003. They have a son and two daughters. Oliver enjoys gardening, hiking and classical music. His favourite quote is ''"Ex Africa semper aliquid novi"'' - Out of Africa always something new.

Selected works

Oliver published more than 100 papers in various botanical journals. Three of his contributions are: *''Hunting for Ericas in Madagascar'', yearbook of The Heather Society, vol 8 (2011) *''Ericas in Mauritius, home of the dodo'', yearbook of The Heather Society, vol 11 (2014) *''Looking for Spanish heathers'', yearbook of The Heather Society, vol 12 (2015) Three of the books that he co-authored are:
''Ericas in Southern Africa''
H. A. Baker, F. Anderson, I. von Below, E. G. H. Oliver (1967, 1992)
''Ericas of South Africa''
D. Schumann, G. Kirsten, E. G. H. Oliver (1992) *''Field guide to the Ericas of the Cape Peninsula'', E. G. H. Oliver, I. M. Oliver (2000)

Legacy

''Erica oliveri'' is named after him and was first identified in 1961. Three of the species described by him are: *''Erica ignita'' *''Erica roseoloba'' *''Erica saptouensis''

References

External links

EGH Oliver
on ''Google Scholar''
Website of The British Heather SocietySappi What's in a Name: The Meanings of the Botanical Names of Trees
Glen H.F (2004)
Botanical Exploration Southern Africa
Mary Gunn, L. E. W. Codd (1981) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Edward George Hudson 20th-century South African botanists 1938 births Living people 21st-century South African botanists