Gilbert Westacott Reynolds (10 October 1895

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

- 7 April 1967

Mbabane Mbabane (; ss, ÉMbábáne, ) is a city in Eswatini (previously called Swaziland), and is one of the two capitals (along with Lobamba), serving as the executive capital. With an estimated population of 94,874 (2010), it is located on the Mbaba ...

), was a South African

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

and authority on the genus ''

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 ...

''. Gilbert Reynolds arrived in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

with his parents in 1902, where his father started business as an optician. He received his education at St John's College where he was Victor Ludorum. After the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he enlisted and saw active service in

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

and

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

with the rank of captain. Having qualified as optometrist he joined his father's practice in 1921. Reynolds developed a keen interest in the bulbs and succulents of South Africa at about this time. When he started his own country practice about 1930, he was able to travel extensively and gradually narrowed his interests to ''

''. Reynolds was guided in the early stages of his research by Dr I. C. Verdoorn and Dr R. A. Dyer of the Botanical Research Institute in Pretoria, later becoming the authority on ''Aloe'' and having an extensive knowledge of the genus in the field and under cultivation. To gather material for his book, he explored the entire country, collecting specimens, gathering data and taking photographs of the plants in their natural habitats.

General Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

, himself an avid collector and experienced botanist, wrote the foreword to the book. Before the publication of Reynolds' work, no comprehensive guide to the aloes had been compiled, except for various writings and monographs which did not attempt a complete coverage. He spent four weeks at

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

towards the end of 1960, checking the taxonomy, type specimens and identifications.Germishuizen, G. and Glen, G. F.: ''Botanical explorations of southern Africa,'', end 2, National Biodiversity Institute S A N B I, Pretoria, 2010.
pages 359–361 online

Publications

Published books by G.W. Reynolds: * ''The Aloes of South Africa'', Balkema, 1950. * ''The Aloes of Nyasaland'', Nyasaland Society and African Book Centre of Nyasaland, 1954. * ''Les Aloes de Madagascar'', Institut de Recherche scientifique de Madagascar, 1958. * ''The Aloes of Tropical Africa and Madagascar'', Aloes Book Fund, 1966. Publications: * Aloe broomii var. tarkaensis Reynolds, J. S. African Bot. 2: 72 (1936). * Aloe bulbillifera var. paulianae Reynolds, J. S. African Bot. 22: 261 (1956). *

Aloe cameronii ''Aloe cameronii'' is a species of the genus ''Aloe'' indigenous to Malawi and Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bo ...

var. dedzana Reynolds, J. S. African Bot. 31(2): 167 (1965). *

Aloe comptonii ''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 ...

Reynolds, Aloes S. Africa 382 (1950). * Aloe divaricata var. rosea (Decary) Reynolds, Naturaliste Malgache 10: 133 (1958). * Aloe gracilis var. decumbens Reynolds, Aloes S. Africa 358 (1950). * Aloe howmanii Reynolds, Kirkia 1: 156 (1961). *

Aloe lineata ''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 ...

var. muirii (Marloth) Reynolds, Aloes S. Africa 205 (1950). *

Aloe saponaria ''Aloe maculata'' ( syn. ''Aloe saponaria''), the soap aloe or zebra aloe, is a Southern African species of aloe. Local people in South Africa know it informally as the ''Bontaalwyn'' in Afrikaans, or ''lekhala'' in the Sesotho language. Descrip ...

var. ficksburgensis Reynolds, J. S. African Bot. 3: 148 (1937). *

Aloe schweinfurthii ''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 ...

var. labworana Reynolds, J. S. African Bot. 22(3): 140 (1956). *

Aloe somaliensis ''Aloe somaliensis'', the Somalian aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is an evergreen succulent perennial native to Somaliland and Djibouti in East Africa, where it grows at altitudes of in bushland on limeston ...

var. marmota Reynolds & P.R.O.Bally, J. S. African Bot. 30: 222 (1964). *

Aloe striatula ''Aloiampelos striatula'', formerly ''Aloe striatula'', the hardy aloe or striped-stemmed aloe, is a sturdy succulent plant that naturally occurs on the summits of mountains along the south of the Karoo region of South Africa. Tough and hardy, wi ...

var. caesia Reynolds, Fl. Pl. South Africa 16: t. 633 (1936). *

Aloe wickensii ''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 ...

var. lutea Reynolds, J. S. African Bot. 3: 145 (1965). * ''Notes on the Aloes of southern Ethiopia and Somalia'', in Journal of The East Africa Natural History Society, Naibrobi, 1954, Pages 102–104.
online
* ''Hunting aloes in East Africa'', African Wild Life 6: 308-322 (1952) * ''Hunting aloes in Nyasaland'', African Wild Life 7: 102-111 (1953) * ''Hunting aloes in Ethiopia and Somaliland'', African Wild Life 8: 14-25 (1954) * ''The Murchison Falls National Park'', African Wild Life 8: 271-279 (1954) * ''The Queen Elizabeth National Park'', African Wild Life 9: 109-114 (1955) * ''Hunting aloes in Madagascar'', African Wild Life 9: 299-320 (1955) * ''Hunting aloes in Eritrea and Ethiopia'', African Wild Life 10: 205-214 (1956) * ''Hunting aloes in Somaliland Protectorate'', African Wild Life 12: 101-114 (1958) * ''Hunting aloes in Nyasaland and Tanganyika Territory'', African Wild Life 13: 35-52 (1959) * ''Hunting aloes in Angola'', African Wild Life 14: 13-25 (1960) He published numerous popular articles in ''African Wild Life'' detailing his collecting trips to places as far afield as

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, as well as many scientific papers in botanical journals on the subject of aloes. After his death, his collection of aloes was transplanted to the Mlilwane Game Sanctuary in

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, with quite a number going to the National Botanical Institute in Pretoria.

Awards and fellowships

* Fellow of the

Cactus and Succulent Society of America The Cactus and Succulent Society of America (CSSA) is a horticultural society which is based in Claremont, California. History The CSSA was founded in 1929 in Los Angeles County, at Pasadena, California and has grown to encompass over 80 affil ...

(CSSA), 1941 * Fellow of the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

(F.L.S), 1951 * Merit of the

Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science The Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science (S2A3 or S2A3) is a learned society, originally known as the South African Association for the Advancement of Science (SAAAS). Established in 1902, its principal aim is to increase th ...

, 1951 *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of 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 ...

, 1952 * Bolus–Medal of the

Botanical Society of South Africa 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 ...

, 1966

References

*''Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa'' vol. 9 (NASOU 1973) * Colin C. Walker: ''Gilbert Westacott Reynolds: his study of Aloe and a bibliography of his work'', Bradleya 28/2010, Dept. of Life Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, England. *Mary Gunn, L. E. W. Codd: ''Botanical Exploration of Southern Africa'', Balkema, Cape Town, 1981, * Chuck Staples: ''Gilbert Reynolds Biography''
(online-PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Gilbert Westacott 1895 births 1967 deaths South African optometrists 20th-century South African botanists South African taxonomists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Alumni of St John's College (Johannesburg) Colony of Victoria people