Olive Mary Hilliard ( Hillary, 4 July 1925 – 30 November 2022) was a South African botanist and taxonomist. Hilliard authored 372 land plant species names, the fifth-highest number of such names authored by any female scientist. Hilliard was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

on 4 July 1925. She attended

Natal University The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-Na ...

from 1943 to 1947, where she obtained an MSc and later a PhD. She worked at the National Herbarium in

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

in 1947-48 and was a lecturer in botany at Natal University from 1954 to 1962. In 1963 she became curator of the herbarium at Natal University and a research fellow. Her special fields of interest were the flora of Natal and the taxonomy of ''

Streptocarpus ''Streptocarpus'' ("twisted fruit" from Greek στρεπτός (''streptos'') "twisted" and καρπός (''carpos'') "fruit") is an Afrotropical genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. The genus is native to Afromontane biotopes ...

'',

Compositae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

and

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

. In 1964 she formed a professional and personal collaboration with

Brian Laurence Burtt Brian Laurence "Bill" Burtt FRSE FLS (27 August 1913 – 30 May 2008), was an English botanist and taxonomist who is noted for his contributions to the family Gesneriaceae. In a career that spanned 74 years, he worked first at the Royal Botanic ...

(1913-2008) who played a large part in the revitalising of a moribund

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

. Their collaboration resulted in numerous papers and three books, ''Streptocarpus: an African Plant Study'' (1971), ''The Botany of the Southern Natal Drakensberg'' (1987), and ''Dierama: The Hairbells of Africa'' (1991). Hilliard died on 30 November 2022, at the age of 97.

Legacy

Hilliard collected specimens, mostly from the Natal Drakensberg and

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

, number some 8000 (of which 5000 were collected with B. L. Burtt). She is commemorated in the 2 genera of ''

Hilliardia ''Hilliardia'' is a monotypic genus of South African flowering plants in the daisy family. It only contains one known species, ''Hilliardia zuurbergensis'' It is native to the Eastern Cape Province and KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa. The genus ...

'' and '' Hilliardiella'' (both in the

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

family). She is also honoured in ''Plectranthus hilliardiae'' , ''Schizoglossum hilliardiae'' , ''Cymbopappus hilliardiae'' , ''Agalmyla hilliardiae'' and ''Helichrysum hilliardiae''

Works

* Hilliard, OM, BL Burtt 1971. ''Streptocarpus: an African Plant Study'' * Hilliard, OM. 1983. ''Flora of Southern Africa Series''. Ed. Balogh Scientific Books. 325 pp. * Hilliard, OM, BL Burtt 1985. ''A Revision of Geranium in Africa south of the Limpopo''. (Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Vol. XLII no. 2)
* Hilliard, OM. 1987. ''The Botany of the Southern Natal Drakensberg'' (Annals of Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens) Ed. National Botanic Gardens. 253 pp. * Hilliard, OM, BL Burtt 1991. ''Dierama: The Hairbells of Africa''. Ed. Timber Press, Inc. 152 pp. * Hilliard, OM. 1995. ''The Manuleae: A Tribe of Scrophulariaceae''. Ed. Edinburgh University Press. 600 pp. * Hilliard, OM, LS Davis (illustrator). 1997. ''Trees & Shrubs of Natal (Ukhahlamba)''. Ed. Univ. of Kwazulu Natal Press; 2ª ed. 48 pp. * Hilliard, OM. 1997. ''Flowers of the Natal Drakensberg: The Lily, Iris And Orchid Family And Their Allies (Ukhahlamba S.)'' Ed. Univ. of Kwazulu Natal Press. 85 pp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilliard, Olive Mary 1925 births 2022 deaths 20th-century South African botanists 20th-century South African women scientists Botanists with author abbreviations South African taxonomists South African women botanists Women taxonomists