Gert Cornelius Nel (6 April 1885 – 16 February 1950) was 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 ...

. His formal

botanical author abbreviation In botanical nomenclature, author citation is the way of citing the person or group of people who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the ''International Cod ...

is Nel. The genus ''

Nelia Nelia or Neleia ( grc, Νηλία or Νήλεια) was a town of Magnesia in ancient Thessaly; Demetrias was situated between it and Iolcus. Strabo reports that when Demetrios Poliorketes Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), ...

'', a flowering plant of the family

Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is d ...

, is named in his honor.

Biography

Nel was born in 1885 in Greytown, Natal Colony on a farm. He earned a BA at the

University of Stellenbosch 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 ...

then earned a doctorate in botany at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

under both Adolf Engler and Gottlieb Haberlandt. Nel emphasized African plant species in his studies, especially in the families

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus ''Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis fa ...

and

Hypoxidaceae Hypoxidaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the 1998, 2003, and 2009 versions) recognizes this family. The family consists of four genera totalling s ...

. He provided numerous first descriptions of species of the genera '' Forbesia'', ''Ianthe'', ''

Hypoxis ''Hypoxis'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Hypoxidaceae. The genus has an " almost cosmopolitan" distribution, occurring in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia.Singh, Y. (Natal Herbarium, Durban)''Hypoxis''.PlantZAfrica.com: ...

'', and '' Rhodohypoxis''. In 1921, Nel became a professor of botany at the

, a position he would hold until his death. Nel published the first book on the plant genus ''

Lithops ''Lithops'' is a genus of succulent plants in the ice plant family, Aizoaceae. Members of the genus are native to southern Africa. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek words () 'stone' and () 'face', referring to the stone-like appearanc ...

'' in the family Aizoaceae in 1946, entitled ''Lithops''. ''Lithops'' are native to southern Africa and known for their stone-like appearance. Nel died in Stellenbosch in 1950.

Legacy

The genus ''

'', discovered in 1928 by

Gustav Schwantes Martin Heinrich Gustav Schwantes (18 September 1881 – 1960) was a German archaeologist and botanist specialist of Aizoaceae (Mesembryanthemaceae). Life and work Schwantes was born in Bleckede and died in Hamburg. The Duvensee paddle is the pre ...

, is named after Nel. Other succulent plant species are also named after Nel, including: *''

Braunsia nelii Braunsia may refer to: * Braunsia (plant) ''Braunsia'' is a genus of succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to the Western Cape province in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the sou ...

'' *'' Conophytum nelianum'' *'' Euphorbia nelii'' *'' Gasteria neliana'' *''

Gibbaeum nelii ''Gibbaeum'' is a genus of about 21 species of small succulent plants of the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to the Little Karoo region of South Africa. The name "Gibbaeum" comes from the Latin ''gibbosus'' (hunchback) Description These dwarf su ...

'' *''

Glottiphyllum nelii ''Glottiphyllum nelii'' is a species of succulent plant, in the family Aizoaceae. It is indigenous to the arid Great Karoo region, South Africa. Description The leaves are shiny, green and distichous (produced in two parallel ranks), with smoot ...

'' *''

Hereroa nelii ''Hereroa'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Aizoaceae. Its native range is Southern Africa. Species: *'' Hereroa acuminata'' *'' Hereroa aspera'' *'' Hereroa brevifolia'' *'' Hereroa calycina'' *'' Hereroa carinans'' ...

'' *'' Herrea nelii'' *''

Stapelia neliana ''Stapelia'' is a genus of low-growing, spineless, stem succulent plants, predominantly from South Africa with a few from other parts of Africa. Several Asian and Latin American species were formerly included but they have all now been transf ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nel, Gert Cornelius 1885 births 1950 deaths 20th-century South African botanists Botanists active in Africa Stellenbosch University faculty Stellenbosch University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni