''Flowering Plants of Africa'' is a series of illustrated botanical magazines akin to ''

Curtis's Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

'', initiated as ''Flowering Plants of South Africa'' by I. B. Pole-Evans in 1920. It is now published by the

South African National Biodiversity Institute The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation established in 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004, under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs ( ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

. The magazine depicts and describes flowering plants from Africa and its neighbouring islands. The issues are printed in soft cover measuring 250 x 190 mm. The first volumes were printed in England by L. Reeve & Co. These first illustrations were done in black and white by

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

, zinc plates later replacing the stone. A copy of the original water colour guided teams of hand-colour artists who applied paint where needed. Hand-colouring was a family craft carried on from generation to generation. Single colour printing was occasionally done to help speed the process, especially when skilled hand-colour artists were in short supply, as happened in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Notable botanists who contributed to this journal include

Anna Amelia Obermeyer Anna Amelia Mauve (née Obermeyer) (1907 – 2001) was a South African botanist who worked at the Botanical Research Institute in Pretoria. She catalogued more than 4,000 plant specimens from the Kalahari and Soutpansberg regions. She made majo ...

and

Josef Bogner Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

. Notable botanical artists who have contributed to its pages include Kathleen Annie Lansdell, Gillian Condy,

Fay Anderson A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...

Auriol Batten Auriol Ursula Luyt Batten (née Taylor) (2 March 1918, in Pietermaritzburg – 2 June 2015, in East London, Eastern Cape, East London) was a South African botanical illustrator. Auriol Batten obtained a B.Sc. in botany at the University of Nat ...

Rosemary Holcroft ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmari ...

Betty Connell Mary Elizabeth Connell (26 March 1917, York - July 1997) was an English-born South African botanical illustrator. Even at an early age Connell showed exceptional artistic talent and her first schooling was at the York College for Girls (closed d ...

Cythna Letty Cythna Lindenberg Letty (1 January 1895, in Standerton – 3 May 1985, in Pretoria), was a South African botanical artist and is regarded as a doyenne of South African botanical art by virtue of the quality and quantity of her meticulously exe ...

(who was responsible for over 700 plates),

Barbara Pike Rosalie Barbara Pike born 29 March 1933 in Johannesburg is a South African botanical artist. Biography Barbara Pike is one of two daughters born to Barend Elzas, an industrial chemist, and his wife Klara 'Claire' Kindinger. She attended the P ...

and

Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst Johanna Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst (10 July 1920 Pretoria – 30 June 1994 Cape Town) was a South African botanical artist. She received her early education in Pretoria. After matriculating from Pretoria Girls' High School she started work in 1939 a ...

. The series was edited by I. B. Pole-Evans (1921-1939),

Edwin Percy Phillips Edwin Percy Phillips (18 February 1884 – 12 April 1967) was a South African botanist and taxonomist, noted for his monumental work ''The Genera of South African Flowering Plants'' first published in 1926. Phillips was born in Sea Point, Cap ...

(1940-1944), Robert Allen Dyer (1945-1964) and L. E. W. Codd.

References

External links

* Botany journals Defunct magazines published in South Africa Horticultural magazines Magazines established in 1920 Mass media in Pretoria Magazines published in South Africa English-language magazines published in South Africa {{sci-mag-stub