I am a botanist interested in plants, insects, life’s journey, nature, landscapes, agriculture, gardening, rare animal breeds, heritage seeds, arts, poetry, history, philosophy, anthropology, comparative religion, cultures, and futures thinking. South African by birth I have lived in the UK since 1978.

I am interested in the evolution, biology, systematics and biogeography of the plant family Fabaceae (Leguminosae) with particular interests in Southern Africa and South & Central America and in the Tribes Psoraleeae, Phaseoleae and Sophoreae sensu lato. My long-term interests include aspects such as nocturnal leaf movements, diurnal and nocturnal flower movements, petal sculpturing patterns, flower colour polymorphism, invasive weeds and inter-organism relationships (endosymbiosis & pollination biology), and urban ecology and urban speciation. The role of hybridization and polyploidy in plant evolution is of particular interest, especially related to the weed Lantana camara L. and to Rubus (Brambles) in Southern Africa.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7207-2765